Leptoceratops

ceratopsian · late cretaceous · small dinosaur

Tiny horned dinosaur. Leptoceratops was much smaller than its famous cousin Triceratops. It had a partial horn or frill on its head, making it part of the ceratopsian family of horned dinosaurs.

Last of its kind. Leptoceratops lived during the Maastrichtian age, which was the very last part of the Late Cretaceous period, right before all dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago.

North American explorer. Scientists have found more than ten Leptoceratops skeletons in Alberta, Montana, and Wyoming, giving us a really complete picture of what this dinosaur looked like from head to tail.

Found in formations. The first Leptoceratops was discovered in Alberta's Scollard Formation in 1910, and it was officially named by paleontologist Barnum Brown in 1914 based on a partial skull and skeleton.

Complete skeletons known. In 1947, paleontologist Charles M. Sternberg found a group of three Leptoceratops skeletons together, including one that was completely intact, which helped scientists understand the dinosaur's full body shape.