Archaeoceratops which means “ancient horned face”, is a basal neoceratopsian dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian stage) of north central China. It is believed to have been bipedal and petite (about 1 meter in length) with a large head. In contrast to other later ceratopsians they did not have teeth, with only a tiny bony frill that extended from the rear part of the head.
Two specimens were discovered inside The Middle Gray Unit of the Xinminbao Group, Gongpoquan Basin of the Mazong Shan area of Gansu Province North Central China. The species of type, A. oshimai, was identified after Dong Zhiming and Azuma in 1997. It was the first basal neoceratopsian to be discovered in this region.

Hai-Lu You and Peter Dodson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The specimen of type, IVPP V11114, consists of a partial skeleton comprising skull and pelvis, caudal vertebrae and the majority of the hind foot. The second one (paratype), IVPP V11115 comprises an incomplete skeleton that has the caudal vertebrae being well preserved, a comparatively well preserved series, a part of the hind leg, and a fully preserved foot. It is smaller than the holoctype.

Archaeoceratops as with the majority of ceratopsians were herbivores. The Cretaceous was a time when flowers could be “geographically limited on the landscape” which is why it is possible that this dinosaur ate the dominant species of the time such as cycads, ferns, and conifers. It could have utilized its sharp beak to cut off the needles or leaves and then chop the pieces into pieces that were then swallowed.

Source: Wikipedia