Microceratus is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period in Asia. It would have used its sharp beak to bite off the leaves or needles. In the first Jurassic Park novel, they spend most of their time in the trees.

It became known as Microceratops when it was first discovered in 1953, but that name was already occupied by a wasp with the same name. The replacement name Microceratus was created by Mateus in 2008 for the type specimen.

Wikipedia has a more detailed and comprehensive article on Microceratus




A herd of Microceratus.

22 Microceratus were created on Sorna for the original Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, but were released from their enclosure during hurricane Clarrisa. It is unknown if their were any surviving populations by 1997 incident.

Microceratus was successfully recreated by InGen for Masrani Global Corporation's new dinosaur park Jurassic World. Their skin color on the website came in olive, dark red, turquoise, or all of the above. Each individual had at least one or all of these colors arranged in a unique pattern, though its true appearance in the park is unknown. They seem to be able to swap between being a quadruped and a biped on the painting. They grew a foot longer than the original dinosaur and weighed 10 more pounds. They had low intelligence and would mistake litter of park visitors for food.[1] It lives in the Cretaceous Cruise and is possibly the smallest dinosaur in the Jurassic World park.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

While no Microceratus appeared in the film, it has been revealed that there were surviving Microceratus populations on Isla Nublar, but as none were seen being taken to Lockwood Manor, it can be assumed that the species has fallen back into extinction.[2]

It is possible that Microceratus was saved offscreen.[3]


Jurassic Park

Microceratus appears in the novel under its old scientific name Microceratops. It was a free-roaming addition to the park. However, they may mainly reside in Sauropod Swamp.

There were exactly 22 Microceratops on Isla Nublar while the park was still in control. At the end of the novel, only 13 remain. They're encountered by the group when Lex points out the dinosaurs are eating berries while riding a raft along the jungle river. All of them were later killed off when the Costa Rican Air Force napalmed the island.

It is unknown if any Microceratops were present on Isla Sorna during the events of The Lost World; it is most likely that they were killed off due to their lack of reproduction, or they were either nesting in a different region of the island.

Some editions of the novel (like the Novel bundle) accidentally replace its name with that of Callovosaurus.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

A figure of Microceratus will be featured in the "Destructasaurus" assortments for the toy-line based on the fifth film. This is the first time it has ever physically appeared in any Jurassic Park toy set.

Behind the scenes


Microceratus in the Jurassic World storyboard.

In the Jurassic World storyboard, Microceratus was supposed to live in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo. They were also shown to be a bit aggressive, as show in the storyboard when they are seen jumping on a man's face.[4]

The icon for Microceratus seen on the Holoscape and the Jurassic World website comes from a size diagram of Microceratus from the website DinoPit.

The Microceratus is one of Colin Trevorrow’s favorite animals.[[1]]


  1. Jurassic World Facebook
  2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
  4. davelowerystoryboards - Jurassic World (July 31, 2015) Retrieved from


