Protoceratops andrewsi at the American Museum of Natural History

In 2023, I had the opportunity to study plesiosaur material at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. While there, I took some time to explore the rest of the exhibits. In the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs, there’s a historic mount of two Protoceratops skeletons alongside a reconstructed nest. I remembered them from dinosaur books I read as a kid, where they were often shown in connection with the famous discovery of the first dinosaur eggs.

I did some research and came across the publication “The Structure and Relationships of Protoceratops” by Barnum Brown and Erich Maren Schlaikjer (1940), which provides valuable information about the specimens.

Both skeletons were collected during the Central Asiatic Expeditions of the AMNH in the 1920s. The skeleton on the left is AMNH 6417, collected in 1923 and mounted by Charles J. Lang. The other, AMNH 6467—posed in a more upright, supportive position—was collected in 1925 and mounted by Peter C. Kaisen. The group of two skeletons and the restored nest was assembled by Lang, who was the museum’s chief preparator from 1920 to 1950.

Interestingly, the appendix of the Brown & Schlaikjer paper notes that 13 Protoceratops specimens (each with its own field number) were distributed to institutions across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Next to the mounted skeletons, there’s also a display showing ontogenetic and morphological variation in Protoceratops skulls, which I found very informative.

Here, I’d like to share some photos I took during my visit.

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Reference: Brown, B. & Schlaikjer, E. M. (1940) The Structure and Relationships of Protoceratops. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 40 (3): 133–266.