Aquilops

Aquilops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous, about 109-98 million years ago. In 1997, the only known skull was found in the Cloverly Formation of Carbon County, southern Montana, and was made the holotype specimen of the new genus and species Aquilops americanus in 2014. The generic name is derived from the Latin and Greek words for "eagle" and "face", in reference to the dinosaur's hooked beak, and the specific name refers to it being the first early neoceratopsian found in North America. The holotype consists of a partial skull and lower jaws of a probably subadult individual. Aquilops was prominently featured in the 2025 film Jurassic World: Rebirth, an occasion used for scientific outreach. A small neoceratopsian, the only known skull of Aquilops is 84.2 mm (3.31 in) long as preserved, from which a total length of about 60 cm (24 in) and a weight of about 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) has been extrapolated. A fully grown Aquilops would probably have been 1 m (39 in) or less. As an early ceratopsian, it would probably have been bipedal. The upper margin of the skull in front of the eyes is steeply inclined, and the skull is triangular when seen from the top. Aquilops is unique in that the rostral bone at the front of the snout is strongly hooked and has a boss at the front edge. The rostral forms a unique, concave profile in front of the upper teeth. The antorbital fenestra is unique in being twice as long as tall and in tapering to a sharp point below the orbit. At the time it was described, Aquilops was the oldest known ceratopsian from North America, and was more closely related to Asian ceratopsians than to North American ones....