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Description
PSITTACOSAURUS(from Dinoworld's website):

Be careful around these guys! Psittacosaurus may be a herbivore, but they sure pack one hell of a nasty bite!

From Cretaceous Mongolia, Psittacosaurus is an extremely-derived relative of the Heterodontosaurs and possibly a heavily derived basal Pachycephalosaur. It is the ancient ancestor of the larger Ceratopsians such as Triceratops and Leptoceratopsians such as Protoceratops. They were extremely common herbivores in their time, and scientists have collected over 700 individual skeletons, most complete. In fact, Pscittacosaurus was so common it it considered a biochron: if a psittacosaurus fossil is uncovered in a certain strata, that indicates what times period the strata is from.

Psittacosaurus is an extremely primitive species: they were still largely bipeds, and lacked the signature frill and horns of their later descendants. They had omnivorous habits, as well; fossils reveal the remains of small mammals in Pscittacosaurus stomachs. Apparently, their sharp beak was good for crushing bone as it was for crushing plants.

Today, you can see Pscittacosaurus in the LIANONING FOREST. Either by going out on the trail or to the Darwin's wildlife show, you can now meet these strange ceratopsian ancestors face-to-face!

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH OR FEED CREATURES HUMAN FOOD. During wildlife show, do not pet spines or put fingers anywhere near the dinosaur's mouth! They have extremely powerful bites! Dinoworld is not responsible for any lost fingers resulting from failure to comply!

HISTORY

Ceratopsians were always planned for Dinoworld. Church often dreamed of such famous giants as Triceratops and Styracosaurus roaming his park. However, like most dinosaurs, there were no extant archosaurs that were anything remotely like it, hence no genepool to pick traits from. No modern birds or Crocodilians had frills or horns. So, naturally, he would have to start from scratch. Like the sauropods, he would recreate one of their easier to make ancestors, and work from there.

Psittacosaurus, for such a small dinosaur, was a huge undertaking. With a Tianyulong base, the modifications were extreme. Gone were the canines, rabbit-like neck and long tail. Taking in geneticists from the Riojasaurus project, they began to once again study the genes for quadrupedalism. Using DNA from high-walking Crocodilians and Riojasaurus, the simple claws were morphed into functional forelimbs the animal could rest on and walk with as a baby. The ulna and radius were permanently twisted, creating a pseudo-pronated foot, DNA from parrots was spliced in to grow a powerful beak, and the skull was bulked-up to an extreme extent. The spines on its back were altered into taller, more rigid structures.

Though Pscittacosaurus wasn't a terribly popular dinosaur, it was an important one nonetheless. Church often explained to his investors that the small, uninteresting creatures GREENGEKO bred were only stepping stones for bigger, better species. Though Pscittacosaurus wasn't very "cool", the research done in its creation resulted in a better understanding of quadrupedalism genes, opening up the possibility to recreate countless new species.

Meanwhile, Dinoworld marched on.....

Photos by whoever owns them.

Please comment!

Description
PSITTACOSAURUS(from Dinoworld's website):

Be careful around these guys! Psittacosaurus may be a herbivore, but they sure pack one hell of a nasty bite!

From Cretaceous Mongolia, Psittacosaurus is an extremely-derived relative of the Heterodontosaurs and possibly a heavily derived basal Pachycephalosaur. It is the ancient ancestor of the larger Ceratopsians such as Triceratops and Leptoceratopsians such as Protoceratops. They were extremely common herbivores in their time, and scientists have collected over 700 individual skeletons, most complete. In fact, Pscittacosaurus was so common it it considered a biochron: if a psittacosaurus fossil is uncovered in a certain strata, that indicates what times period the strata is from.

Psittacosaurus is an extremely primitive species: they were still largely bipeds, and lacked the signature frill and horns of their later descendants. They had omnivorous habits, as well; fossils reveal the remains of small mammals in Pscittacosaurus stomachs. Apparently, their sharp beak was good for crushing bone as it was for crushing plants.

Today, you can see Pscittacosaurus in the LIANONING FOREST. Either by going out on the trail or to the Darwin's wildlife show, you can now meet these strange ceratopsian ancestors face-to-face!

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH OR FEED CREATURES HUMAN FOOD. During wildlife show, do not pet spines or put fingers anywhere near the dinosaur's mouth! They have extremely powerful bites! Dinoworld is not responsible for any lost fingers resulting from failure to comply!

HISTORY

Ceratopsians were always planned for Dinoworld. Church often dreamed of such famous giants as Triceratops and Styracosaurus roaming his park. However, like most dinosaurs, there were no extant archosaurs that were anything remotely like it, hence no genepool to pick traits from. No modern birds or Crocodilians had frills or horns. So, naturally, he would have to start from scratch. Like the sauropods, he would recreate one of their easier to make ancestors, and work from there.

Psittacosaurus, for such a small dinosaur, was a huge undertaking. With a Tianyulong base, the modifications were extreme. Gone were the canines, rabbit-like neck and long tail. Taking in geneticists from the Riojasaurus project, they began to once again study the genes for quadrupedalism. Using DNA from high-walking Crocodilians and Riojasaurus, the simple claws were morphed into functional forelimbs the animal could rest on and walk with as a baby. The ulna and radius were permanently twisted, creating a pseudo-pronated foot, DNA from parrots was spliced in to grow a powerful beak, and the skull was bulked-up to an extreme extent. The spines on its back were altered into taller, more rigid structures.

Though Pscittacosaurus wasn't a terribly popular dinosaur, it was an important one nonetheless. Church often explained to his investors that the small, uninteresting creatures GREENGEKO bred were only stepping stones for bigger, better species. Though Pscittacosaurus wasn't very "cool", the research done in its creation resulted in a better understanding of quadrupedalism genes, opening up the possibility to recreate countless new species.

Meanwhile, Dinoworld marched on.....

Photos by whoever owns them.

Please comment!