Physical Description
Triceratops literally means “three horned face.” They had two large horns on the top of their skull, and a final horn on the tip of its beak (much like that of a rhinoceros.) Behind the back two horns was a frill. This frill was much like a shield of bone above its head.
Fossil evidence shows that the triceratops was about 10 feet high and 30 feet long. Its skull alone could be up to 10 feet long on very large examples. They could weigh up to a formidable 12 tons!
With 4 stumpy feet and a rather stocky frame, it was generally a slow moving animal. Not well equipped to out manoeuvre aggressive predators.
Lifestyle
Because of its four stumpy feet and the lack of a long stride, the Triceratops could only run about 15 mph. Their diet consisted of plants and bigger shrubs native to their habitat. Their sturdy beak enabled it to eat through tougher plants. Although it was a plant eating animal (herbivore), and a slow mover, they were not defenceless against any would-be predators. They could defend themselves reasonably well against larger competitors and predators with their large, pointy horns.
These massive beasts travelled in herds from location to location depending on food. The horns and frills of a triceratops had many functions other than defence. It is thought that they also used them for courtship, pack dominance, as a status symbol and increased body area to put off attackers.
Triceratops History
The Triceratops lived in the late cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago. Other dinosaurs living in that time period included the Ankylosaurus, Corythosaurus, Dryptosaurus, and the coveted Tyrannosaurus rex. The latter of which was a predator with a taste for these plant eating dinosaurs. Most fossil evidence of these dinosaurs to date, have been found along Western North America.
Did You Know?
The Triceratops is the official state dinosaur of Wyoming, and the official state fossil of South Dakota. When the skeleton of the first example was discovered scientists classified it as the genus similar to a buffalo, not a dinosaur.
Triceratops were the primary herbivore species throughout the cretaceous period.
Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Archosauria
- Order: Ornithischia
- Family: Ceratopsidae
- Genus: Triceratops
- Species: T. Horridus
