Aquilops is a fascinating dinosaur that lived around 109 to 104 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. This little dinosaur was herbivorous, which means it ate plants.
The name Aquilops comes from two words: “aquila,” which means eagle in Latin, and “ops,” which means face in Greek. This name highlights its beaked snout, similar to that of an eagle. The full scientific name for Aquilops is Aquilops americanus, and it is indeed the first known very early member of a group called neoceratopsians found in North America.
The first fossil of Aquilops was discovered in 1997 in Montana by paleontologist Scott Madsen. He found a partial skull, which led to the identification of a new dinosaur. In 2014, researchers Andrew Farke and his team formally named and described it.
Aquilops was relatively small. Its skull measured about 84.2 millimeters long, and it is estimated that it was only about 60 centimeters long in total, and weighed around 1.5 kilograms. Some unique features of its skull include a downward-curving snout and a specific shape of its skull openings.
In the dinosaur family tree, Aquilops is placed in a group called Neoceratopsia, which is part of a larger group known as ceratopsians. This ancestor might have come from Asia and migrated to North America, demonstrating that dinosaurs could travel between continents even millions of years ago.
Aquilops gives us a glimpse into what early plant-eating dinosaurs may have looked like and how they might have evolved over time. This discovery helps scientists understand the history of dinosaurs better, especially regarding those found in North America.