Abstract
The partial skeleton of a leptoceratopsid dinosaur, Ischioceratops zhuchengensis gen. et sp. nov., was excavated from the bone-beds of the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Zhucheng, Shandong Province, China. This fossil represents the second leptoceratopsid dinosaur specimen recovered from the Kugou locality, a highly productive site in Zhucheng. The ischium of the new taxon is morphologically unique among known Dinosauria, flaring gradually to form an obturator process in its middle portion and resembling the shaft of a recurve bow. An elliptical fenestra perforates the obturator process, and the distal end of the shaft forms an axehead-shaped expansion. The discovery of Ischioceratops increases the known taxonomic diversity and morphological disparity of the Leptoceratopsidae.
Highlights
The leptoceratopsids are a group of small, quadrupedal horned dinosaurs that have so far been found exclusively in the Upper Cretaceous of Asia and western North America [1]
Leptoceratopsidae was originally named by Nopcsa in 1923 [5] as a subfamily, with Leptoceratops gracilis as the type species
Leptoceratopsids were once known only from the Upper Cretaceous of North America [4,7], but three taxa have been described from the Upper Cretaceous of Asia: Asiaceratops
Summary
The leptoceratopsids are a group of small, quadrupedal horned dinosaurs that have so far been found exclusively in the Upper Cretaceous (upper Santonian—upper Maastrichtian) of Asia and western North America [1]. Leptoceratopsids share some of the advanced features seen in ceratopsids and are closely related to the latter group. Leptoceratopsidae was originally named by Nopcsa in 1923 [5] as a subfamily, with Leptoceratops gracilis as the type species. In 2001, Makovicky redefined Leptoceratopsidae as a stembased taxon consisting of all species closer to Leptoceratops gracilis than to Triceratops horridus [6]. Leptoceratopsids were once known only from the Upper Cretaceous of North America [4,7], but three taxa have been described from the Upper Cretaceous of Asia: Asiaceratops
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