For Immediate Release Contact: Greg Borzo (312) 665-7106 Liaoceratops has a small horn facing sideways under each of its eyes that seem to be display structures, according to Dr. Makovicky. The frill, which gets very large in advanced ceratopsians, is often considered a display structure. But there is evidence that powerful muscles were attached to the short frill in Liaoceratops. “Pitted surface texture on the rim of the frill clearly indicates that the jaw muscles passed behind the cheek and were attached to the frill,” he says. “Although short, the frill is thick to counteract the contraction of these large muscles.” There appears to be little evidence that ceratopsians’ horns evolved for defensive purposes, according to Dr. Makovicky. "Liaoceratops appears unable to protect itself against most predators, which would have included carnivorous dinosaurs and crocodiles. Instead, it probably relied on concealment or flight to defend itself.” Liaoceratops ate plants, possibly ginkgo, horsetails or conifers. Evidence of these plants is preserved in the same rock unit in which the dinosaur was found. Its teeth were built primarily for slicing and shearing rather than grinding. “Liaoceratops gives us a great window on the early evolution of horned dinosaurs and tells us that Triceratops and its relatives evolved from very small Asian ceratopsians,” Dr. Makovicky concludes. China site rich in fossils The name of the new dinosaur refers to the province and village in China (Liaoning and Yanzigou, respectively) where the fossils were collected. Recently, scientists have discovered many groundbreaking fossils in western Liaoning, including feathered dinosaurs and Sinovenator changii, a dinosaur that is closely related to and almost the same age as Archaeopteryx, the oldest known bird. The Field Museum, National Geographic Society, American Museum of Natural History, and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences supported this research. Looking ahead, Dr. Makovicky plans to conduct collaborative fieldwork in China to look for more fossils. “This area is yielding extremely important information on the evolution of dinosaurs, mammals, insects and flowering plants,” he says. “I hope to find even more primitive specimens than Liaoceratops.”