Late Cretaceous

Mongolia

The Turonian thru Santonian.   

Updated 092714

The psitacosaurs are replaced by ornithomimids and neoceratopsians. The tall, keen-eyed "bird mimics" were the ostriches and emus of the dinosaur world and could sprint swiftly on their long, slim legs. Each foot had 3 effective claws, and each long, thin arm had a hand with 3 spindly, claw tipped fingers. A long, slender, mobile neck supported a small head with fragile bones and a toothless beak for light weight. The skull is distinctive, with large eye sockets, a long, shallow snout, shortened temporal region, a bony capsule at the base of the braincase, most were toothless with a horny beak.

Garudimimus differed from the other ostrich dinosaurs by having a bony crest, shorter toes, a more rounded beak tip and larger eyes.

Castings Garudimimus

Protoceratops is common in the Santonian and is a candidate for the ancestor of the giant horned dinosaurs. For many years it was considered as one of the few dinosaurs for which examples have been found for all life stages, but the eggs are now believed to belong to oviraptorosaurids. A fossilized group of 12-15 small juveniles tightly huddled together and a number of adults nearby suggests that the animal lived in social groups.

URKRD and Tyco Protoceratops with Chinasaur Raptor and and Protoceratops.

Velociraptor had a long, low head, a depressed muzzle, relatively large brain, and small, sharp teeth. It was fast and intelligent. It is the best known of all dromaeosaurids. Recent studies indicate that it almost certainly had modern style feathers.

Bullyland Velociraptor and Tyco Dino Rider Protoceratops.

Two forms of Protoceratops are known, a robust form with a raised frill and a high nose bump, and a less robust form with a flat snout and low frill. They possibly represent different sexes.

Safari Ltd Velociraptor