Pronunciation: MIEK-ro-suh-RAH-tuss
Meaning: Small-horned
Author/s: Mateus (2008)
Synonyms: Microceratops (Bohlin, 1953)
First Discovery: Nei Mongol, China
Discovery Chart Position: #645
Microceratus gobiensis
Microceratus was originally christened Microceratops by Anders Birger Bohlin in 1953. Alas, that name had already been snaffled by Seyrig the previous year for an ichneumon — a type of wasp, not the ferret-like killer of dragons from medieval folklore — rendering Bohlin’s moniker a taxonomic faux pas and invalid under ICZN rules. The remains were hardly worth the bureaucratic bother, since the best bits — a partial skeleton from Shiregin Gashun — were reassigned to Graciliceratops by Paul Sereno in 2000. Yet, a replacement name was still required for the fragments that remained, and Octávio Mateus duly obliged in 2008. Thus, Microceratus was born.
One of the short-frilled neoceratopsians known as leptoceratopsids, Microceratus was a small, bipedal herbivore with stubby forelimbs, a modest bony neck frill, the signature ceratopsian beak — but no horns, and was maybe 2 feet long. A second species, originally named Microceratops sulcidens ("Quarry tooth"), was described alongside Microceratops gobiensis by Bohlin in 1953. But its remains — a couple of teeth, plus a vertebra, and some hand and foot bones — were recovered from an entirely different locality have since vanished into the stratigraphic ether.
One of the short-frilled neoceratopsians known as leptoceratopsids, Microceratus was a small, bipedal herbivore with stubby forelimbs, a modest bony neck frill, the signature ceratopsian beak — but no horns, and was maybe 2 feet long. A second species, originally named Microceratops sulcidens ("Quarry tooth"), was described alongside Microceratops gobiensis by Bohlin in 1953. But its remains — a couple of teeth, plus a vertebra, and some hand and foot bones — were recovered from an entirely different locality have since vanished into the stratigraphic ether.
(Small-horned from the Gobi)
Etymology
Microceratus is derived from the Greek "mikros" (small) and "ceratos" (horned).The species epithet, gobiensis, refers to the Gobi Desert.
Discovery
The remains of Microceratus were discovered in Mongolia's Gobi Desert during Sino-Swedish expeditions between 1927-1931.
The holotype consists of teeth, fragmentary jaws and bits of skeleton.
