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ANATOMY
Montanoceratops walked on four legs, had a large head, a bulky body, a parrot-like beak, a small nose horn, cheek teeth, and a small frill on its head. Males may have had larger frills than females, indicating that the frill may have been used in courtship and mating.

Montanoceratops was up to 6 feet long (1.8 m) and weighed about 900 pounds (400 kg).

WHEN MONTANOCERATOPS LIVED
Montanoceratops lived in the late-Cretaceous period, about 72 to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles.

BEHAVIOR
Montanoceratops was probably a herding animal, like the other Ceratopsians. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area, and large groups of nests. Each nest had 12 or more eggs, laid in a spiral fashion.

Males may have had larger frills than females, indicating that the frill may have been used in courtship and mating.

INTELLIGENCE
Montanoceratops was a ceratopsian, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was intermediate among the dinosaurs.

DIET
Montanoceratops was an herbivore, a plant eater. It probably ate cycads and other prehistoric plants with its tough, hook-like beak.

LOCOMOTION
Montanoceratops walked on four short legs; it was a relatively slow dinosaur. Dinosaur speeds are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways.

DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS
Montanoceratops fossils have been found in Montana, USA and Alberta, Canada. It was first found in Montana by Barnum Brown. It was named by Charles M. Sternberg in 1951.

CLASSIFICATION
Montanoceratops was an Ornithischian dinosaur, the order of bird-hipped, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was a Ceratopsian (frilled, herding herbivores, that include Triceratops, Styracosaurus, etc.), and a Protoceratopsid (an early ceratopsian which included Protoceratops, Leptoceratops, and others).

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