Smallest Protoceratops

My Protoceratops mini figure from the Safari set has gotten a new friend. Or, a girlfriend, I suppose, since she comes with a nest and eggs.

The figure is a 1:35 scale Protoceratops andrewsi by Wild Past, which I think is a pretty new company at making dinosaur figures. It's quite detailed for its size, looks like a very accurate reconstruction to me, and is absolutely adorable.

I really love the colour and patterns on it, looks like something that would suit an animal that lived in a desert environment. The vertical stripes at the tail remind me of ripples on sand dunes, and could be both camoflage and useful for intraspecific communication, and the frill has that "fake eyes" thing going on.

The inclusion of the nest is fitting, considering the research history of Protoceratops. The first known fossilized dinosaur eggs discovered were originally considered to be Protoceratops ones, due to many skeletons of the species in the area, and the theropod Oviraptor philoceratops ("egg thief fond of ceratopsians") gets its name from having been found at a nest and believed to have been preying on Protoceratops eggs. With the much later discovery of specimens of oviraptorid Citipati in brooding position over eggs similar to those thought to be Protoceratops ones and a Citipati embryo inside one such egg, the context of the discovered scene changed from nest robbing to a parent protecting its own offspring. In 2011 a Protoceratops nest was finally found, too, showing signs that suggest parental care, in Protoceratops and possibly ceratopsians in general, since Protoceratops ("first horned face") is a basal ceratopsian.

Cat for size comparison.