Ajkaceratops kozmai
Ajkaceratops (pronounced "oi-ka-sera-tops") is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur described in 2010. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in the western Tethyan archipelago, in what is now Europe. The type species, A. kozmai, was originally described as a ceratopsian most closely related to forms in east Asia, from where its ancestors may have migrated by island-hopping. Later research, however, questioned this assignment and treated Ajkaceratops as an ornithischian of unresolved affinity. In 2026, more complete cranial remains referable to the species were described, supporting its placement as a
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Discovery
- Description
- Classification
- Palaebiology
- Palaeoenvironment
- See also
- References
Ajkaceratops (pronounced "oi-ka-sera-tops") is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur described in 2010. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in the western Tethyan archipelago, in what is now Europe. The type species, A. kozmai, was originally described as a ceratopsian most closely related to forms in east Asia, from where its ancestors may have migrated by island-hopping. Later research, however, questioned this assignment and treated Ajkaceratops as an ornithischian of unresolved affinity. In 2026, more complete cranial remains referable to the species were described, supporting its placement as a ceratopsian.
==Discovery== left|thumb|Skeletal reconstruction showing first known material The holotype, cataloged as MTM V2009.192.1, consists only of a few skull fragments, including snout with proposed rostral bone, fused premaxillae, and maxillae fragments (beak and jaw fragments). These fossils are kept in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, in Budapest. The generic name, Ajkaceratops, honors Ajka, a town in Hungary where the fossils were first discovered, combined with the given greek nomination ceratops, meaning "horned face". The specific name, "kozmai", honors Károly Kozma.