For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Kremer/Nancy O’Shea (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) Cretaceous Period: 144 million to 65 million years ago Psittacosaurus (SIT-uh-ko-SAWR-us: parrot lizard) 135 million years ago Fossil. Height: 2 feet; length: 4 feet This creature was among the earliest of the ceratopsian line (horned dinosaurs)—and one of the smallest. It had the parrot-like beak that is a key feature of all horned dinosaurs, but no frill or horns. The dinosaur may have used its short front legs to grasp plants while it cracked open hard-shelled seeds and stripped off leaves. It could run on two feet or stand on all four. Sinosauropteryx (SIGH-noh-sawr-OP-ter-iks: Chinese dragon-feather) 125-120 million years ago Cast. Length: 3 feet Discovered in 1996, this theropod was the first dinosaur to show fossilized impressions of primitive feathers over most of its body (though they’re not visible in the exhibition specimen). While it couldn’t fly, the feathers probably provided insulation. It had sharp teeth and probably hunted lizards and small mammals. Caudipteryx (caw-DIP-tuh-riks: tail feather) 125-120 million years ago Cast. Length: 3 feet With long true feathers on its tail and arms, this theropod has given scientists new insights into the evolution of feathers. Its arm resembled a wing but it worked like a limb—Caudipteryx could not fly. Bactrosaurus (BAK-truh-SAWR-us: bactrian lizard, named for its club-like tail vertebrae) 85 million years ago Fossil. Height 8 feet; length: 25 feet An early crested hadrosaur (duck-bill), this bird-hipped dinosaur is a relative of the North American Parasaurolophus and provides clear evidence that the two continents were connected in the last dinosaur period. Despite its duck-like head, this dinosaur wasn’t aquatic; its grinding teeth suggest it nipped leaves off branches and ground them before swallowing. Protoceratops (PRO-toe-SAIR-uh-tops: first horn-face) 85 million years ago Fossil skull and cast. Height: 3 to 5 feet; length: 4 to 8 feet Like its later, North American relative Triceratops, this bird-hipped dinosaur might have inspired the myth of the griffin, an animal said to be part eagle, part lion. It had a horny frill at the back of its skull, a beaked mouth, and may have traveled in herds. Some of the largest of these early horned dinosaurs ever found are featured in Dinosaur Dynasty. Tsintaosaurus (SINT-ow-SAWR-us: Tsintao-region lizard) 85-70 million years ago Cast. Height: 11 feet; length: 26 feet A prominent spike on its head—like the horn of the mythical unicorn—sets this duck-billed herbivore apart from hadrosaurs found in North America. The spike might have supported a flap of skin used in mating displays. <<Back to the Dinosaur Dynasty Press Kit Main Page