Psittacosaurus

Psittacosaurus is a small early ceratopsian from the early Cretaceous, it lived in what is now Asia. It is known from a number of well-preserved skeletons, which represent about eight different species.

Psittacosaurus was one of the smallest and most primitive of the ceratopsians. It lacked the well-developed frill and horns that were typical of more advanced ceratopsians, yet, along with the hard keratinous beak, it had the characteristic skull shape of a ceratopsian. In fact, Psittacosaurus is now believed to be an ancestor of the larger, more advanced horned dinosaurs.

Psittacosaurus's hindlimbs were longer-although only slightly-than its forelimbs, which suggests that it could have moved about in an upright position for short distances. In 2002, quills were found in Psittacosaurus' tail, possibly suggesting that these quills were present in all later ceratopsians.

An extraordinarily well preserved Psittacosaurus with skin covering much of its skeleton was discovered. Large parts of the skin were preserved as a thin dark layer, where the skin has been transformed into a dark carbonized matter.

More information: Psittacosaurus on Wikipedia.

Theme parks
Although Psittacosaurus does not appear in any of the three films, it can be seen on the Jurassic Park: River Adventure ride at the Universal theme parks.

Jurassic Park inspired games

 * Psittacosaurus is not available as a dinosaur in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, but with a few mods the player may be able to unlock it.
 * Psittacosaurus is one of the herbivores that can be created from paleo-DNA in the game Jurassic Park III: Park Builder. It is No. 95 of the Herbivore Ones.

Links

 * Psittacosaurus on myjurassicpark.com