Location : Western U.S.

Avaceratops looks like a small version of the famous Triceratops  Like many dinosaur discoveries, not much of it was found. In fact, scientists only found part of its skull and a little of the skeleton behind its head.

This small ceratopsian is known from a single partial skeleton. It was small but had a moderately heavy build. Avaceratops had a short, deep snout with a thick and powerful lower jaw. The neck frill was solid. It is believed that this ceratopsian did not have very large brow horns. Most of its closest relatives had a large nose horn and no brow horns. Some feel that the type specimen is a juvenile, or possibly a young adult. It is considered a primitive ceratopsian.

It was found in 1981 by two amateur paleontologists, Ed and Ava Cole and it was named after Ava. It is an example of the important contributions that non-scientists can make to paleontology. This skeleton is now on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.