Triceratops
Triceratops(Three horned face) is the largest of the ceratopsid dinosaurs and arguably the most iconic. It was distinctive with a huge head, robust body and legs, short neck frill, and long horns. At 9 meters and up to 12 tonnes, they were about the size of large elephants. Triceratops was home to the Western United States and possibly parts of Canada in the Late Cretaceous. There are two species: T. horridus(type) and T. prorsus. The two species were comparable in size. Some similar ceratopsids have been synonymized with Triceratops like Diceratus and Ugrosaurus. It's likely that Tatankaceratops and Nedoceratops were also synonymous. A proposal to synonomize Torosaurus with Triceratops on the basis of Torosaurus being the "grown up" and Triceratops being the "juvenile" was proposed by John Scanella and John Horner but it has been rejected.
Triceratops was an herbivore that preferred cycad leaves and ferns. Lots of food was required to feed these giants. The beak snipped at plants while sharp teeth in the back chewed it. Meat was also likely part of the diet of Triceratops making them more bears or wild boars than say, bison but they weren't hunting; Just probably sticking to occasional scavenging. Triceratops may have had mating seasons where the males rutted over females. Results of these fights could grow violent. It's unknown how many eggs would be laid at once or how long it would take a hatchling to grow to full size but it's likely they took their sweet time growing from cutesy hatchlings with rudimentary horns and frills to big beastly adults with the frills getting smoother and horns curving into a slight wave after initially being upward curving.
It's common to see art of Triceratops in muskox-like herds surrounding younglings and showing off horns to scare off an attacking Tyrannosaurus but this probably wasn't the case. Many Triceratops fossils are known to the point it's literally impossible to hike through Hell Creek and skip the Triceratops but they're usually found in individuals or pairs. A more likely social life was probably similar to that of white-tailed deer, mule deer, elephants, and sperm whales; Lone males, occasional "bachelor herds" of just males, and small herds with adult females and younglings. Triceratops lived alongside many predators like Quetzalcoatlus, Dakotaraptor, Acheroraptor, Dineobellator, Anzu, Pectinodon, Borealosuchus, Champsosaurus, Ornithomimus, and Thoracosuchus but these were only a threat to either hatchings, juveniles, old, weak, tired, ill, or wounded individuals(and for Acheroraptor, Ornithomimus, Pectinodon, Anzu, and Quetzalcoatlus, just the hatchlings at that!) The main predator was Tyrannosaurus and it was specialized for killing dangerous horned or armored prey like Triceratops and would've violently tore off Triceratops heads after killing them. Still, Triceratops was no easy prey for even the tyrant king. Like other dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, Triceratops went extinct during the K-Pg extinction.
Triceratops is...the sort of creature nobody needs to explain. Its pop culture appearances are countless.
Triceratops(Three horned face) is the largest of the ceratopsid dinosaurs and arguably the most iconic. It was distinctive with a huge head, robust body and legs, short neck frill, and long horns. At 9 meters and up to 12 tonnes, they were about the size of large elephants. Triceratops was home to the Western United States and possibly parts of Canada in the Late Cretaceous. There are two species: T. horridus(type) and T. prorsus. The two species were comparable in size. Some similar ceratopsids have been synonymized with Triceratops like Diceratus and Ugrosaurus. It's likely that Tatankaceratops and Nedoceratops were also synonymous. A proposal to synonomize Torosaurus with Triceratops on the basis of Torosaurus being the "grown up" and Triceratops being the "juvenile" was proposed by John Scanella and John Horner but it has been rejected.
Triceratops was an herbivore that preferred cycad leaves and ferns. Lots of food was required to feed these giants. The beak snipped at plants while sharp teeth in the back chewed it. Meat was also likely part of the diet of Triceratops making them more bears or wild boars than say, bison but they weren't hunting; Just probably sticking to occasional scavenging. Triceratops may have had mating seasons where the males rutted over females. Results of these fights could grow violent. It's unknown how many eggs would be laid at once or how long it would take a hatchling to grow to full size but it's likely they took their sweet time growing from cutesy hatchlings with rudimentary horns and frills to big beastly adults with the frills getting smoother and horns curving into a slight wave after initially being upward curving.
It's common to see art of Triceratops in muskox-like herds surrounding younglings and showing off horns to scare off an attacking Tyrannosaurus but this probably wasn't the case. Many Triceratops fossils are known to the point it's literally impossible to hike through Hell Creek and skip the Triceratops but they're usually found in individuals or pairs. A more likely social life was probably similar to that of white-tailed deer, mule deer, elephants, and sperm whales; Lone males, occasional "bachelor herds" of just males, and small herds with adult females and younglings. Triceratops lived alongside many predators like Quetzalcoatlus, Dakotaraptor, Acheroraptor, Dineobellator, Anzu, Pectinodon, Borealosuchus, Champsosaurus, Ornithomimus, and Thoracosuchus but these were only a threat to either hatchings, juveniles, old, weak, tired, ill, or wounded individuals(and for Acheroraptor, Ornithomimus, Pectinodon, Anzu, and Quetzalcoatlus, just the hatchlings at that!) The main predator was Tyrannosaurus and it was specialized for killing dangerous horned or armored prey like Triceratops and would've violently tore off Triceratops heads after killing them. Still, Triceratops was no easy prey for even the tyrant king. Like other dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, Triceratops went extinct during the K-Pg extinction.
Triceratops is...the sort of creature nobody needs to explain. Its pop culture appearances are countless.
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