Aquilops
AK-wih-lops
"eagle face"
- Lived
- 110 to 101 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 0.6 m (2 ft)
- Group
- Ceratopsians
- Found in
- United States
- Named by
- Farke et al. 2014
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in meters
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
105 million years ago
Habitat
A river plain in the Cloverly Formation of Montana. Tenontosaurus and Deinonychus were among the dinosaurs of this region.
Field notes
About Aquilops
What it was like
Aquilops was a small plant eater with a sharply hooked, eagle-like beak at the front of its jaws. It measured roughly 0.6 meters (2 feet) long, small enough to fit in a person's arms, and probably walked on two legs.
Its skull was triangular when viewed from above, with a steep slope in front of the eyes. Unlike later ceratopsians, it had no horns or large frill, only a small beak built for nipping at low plants.
Its world
Aquilops lived about 110 to 101 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Montana, in the United States. Its only known fossil comes from the Cloverly Formation.
It lived alongside much larger animals, including the sail-backed Acrocanthosaurus, the long-necked Sauroposeidon, the armored Sauropelta, the plant eater Tenontosaurus, and the small, sharp-clawed Deinonychus.
How it was found
Farke and colleagues named Aquilops in 2014, based on a single skull. That skull is still the only confirmed fossil find of the genus, so much about its body remains unknown. Aquilops is considered one of the earliest ceratopsians known from North America, and its closest relatives, such as Auroraceratops and Liaoceratops, come from Asia, suggesting early ceratopsians moved between the two continents.
Field gallery
More views of Aquilops
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 7
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Aquilops.
The evidence
The science behind Aquilops
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A small, partial skull and lower jaws show a sharply hooked beak and teeth for cutting plants.
- The skull has a low bump on the front of the beak and small projections on the cheeks.
Borrowed from relatives
- The body and tail are restored by comparison with early ceratopsians such as Auroraceratops and Archaeoceratops.
- Its estimated body length comes from scaling the skull against relatives with more complete skeletons.
Still unknown
- Its adult body size and limb proportions.
- How often it walked on two legs rather than four.
- Its skin covering and color.
Often drawn wrong
- Large brow horns and a broad, spiked frill belong to later horned dinosaurs, rather than Aquilops.
Discovery timeline
- 2014Named itFarke et al.
- 2018Close relativeMorschhauser et al.
- 2024Family treeTanaka et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Aquilops
Named it
Named Aquilops from a small skull and linked it to early ceratopsians from Asia.
A Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Western North America, and the Biogeography of Neoceratopsia. PLoS ONE 9: e112055
Read the paper : A Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Western North America, and the Biogeography of Neoceratopsia (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described the body of Auroraceratops, a small relative that helps guide estimates of Aquilops body shape and size.
Postcranial morphology of the basal neoceratopsian (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia)Auroraceratops rugosusfrom the Early Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) of northwestern Gansu Province, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38: 75-116
Read the paper : Postcranial morphology of the basal neoceratopsian (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia)Auroraceratops rugosusfrom the Early Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) of northwestern Gansu Province, China (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Named Sasayamagnomus and found it closely related to Aquilops, adding to the connection between early ceratopsians in Asia and North America.
A new neoceratopsian (Ornithischia, Ceratopsia) from the Lower Cretaceous Ohyamashimo Formation (Albian), southwestern Japan. Papers in Palaeontology 10
Read the paper : A new neoceratopsian (Ornithischia, Ceratopsia) from the Lower Cretaceous Ohyamashimo Formation (Albian), southwestern Japan (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Neoceratopsia
Sources: Wikidata