Liaoceratops

Liaoceratops
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
Skeletal restoration
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Ceratopsia
Clade: Neoceratopsia
Genus: Liaoceratops
Xu et al., 2002
Type species
Liaoceratops yanzigouensis
Xu et al., 2002

Liaoceratops, meaning "Liaoning horned face", is a ceratopsian dinosaur believed to be an early relative of the horned ceratopsids. It lived in the Early Cretaceous, 126 million years ago. It was discovered in China by a team of American and Chinese scientists. Liaoceratops was much smaller than its later relatives, but offers a glimpse into the early evolution of this group of dinosaurs.