Triceratops fact file

Triceratops facts for kids and adults.

Two elephant -size dinosaurs face each other, showing off their long horns and bony neck frills. Suddenly, the two lurch forward and lock horns, pushing against each other like deer clashing antlers. One loses ground and walks away, defeated. The winner has impressed a nearby female Triceratops. The size and shape of the horns changed so much as the dinosaur aged that scientists first thought fossils of young and old Triceratops were two different species. Some adult Triceratops skulls are 10 feet long! Paleontologists are still gathering evidence to learn why Triceratops had those big horns and frills.

Triceratops fact file

Triceratops Facts for Kids. Check out our fun Triceratops facts for kids and learn all about this popular dinosaur. The Triceratops is easily recognized thanks to the three horns found on its face as well as its large body and the unique frill around its head. Find out just how big they were, what they ate, why they needed their horns, what US state lists them as their official dinosaur and more interesting information. The Triceratops is one of the most easily recognizable dinosaurs due to its large body, unique frill and three horns. It needed its three horns to try and protect itself from the Tyrannosaurus Rex which lived during the same time period. It is believed that fully grown Triceratops were about 8m 26ft in length, 3m 10ft in height and weighed anywhere between 6 to 12 tons. The first known fossils to be that of a Triceratops were horns attached to a partial skull, found near Denver, Colorado in Triceratops had anywhere between and teeth, although only a small percentage of these were in use at any one time as they were constantly replaced throughout its lifetime. Triceratops was represented in the popular Transformers toy line and animated series as Slag, an Autobot that could transform into a Triceratops form. Triceratops Facts for Kids Check out our fun Triceratops facts for kids and learn all about this popular dinosaur.

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The Triceratops has been a creature of fascination for many reasons, the standouts being, its enormous body, novel frill, and three horns. These dinosaurs walked the Earth in the late Cretaceous Period around 65 million years ago and were often pictured as travelling in large groups. The Tyrannosaurs Rex occupied the same ecosystem as the Triceratops, which brings us to the question, did the T-Rex prey on Triceratops or did they live in harmony? The answer lies buried within these 19 Triceratops facts, read on to find out! This gives us a rough idea of where they often resided, though the earth looked a lot different back then. They lived up to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.

It was one of the last-known non-avian dinosaurs and lived until the Cretaceous—Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. Bearing a large bony frill , three horns on the skull, and a large, four-legged body, exhibiting convergent evolution with bovines and rhinoceroses , Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the best-known ceratopsian. It was also one of the largest, up to 8—9 metres 26—30 ft long and 5—9 metric tons 5. It shared the landscape with and was most likely preyed upon by Tyrannosaurus , though it is less certain that two adults would battle in the fanciful manner often depicted in museum displays and popular media. The functions of the frills and three distinctive facial horns on its head have inspired countless debates. Traditionally, these have been viewed as defensive weapons against predators. More recent interpretations find it probable that these features were primarily used in species identification, courtship, and dominance display, much like the antlers and horns of modern ungulates.

Triceratops fact file

Even if your dinosaur phase came and went a few decades ago, you'll probably recognize Triceratops. The frilled, three-horned herbivore died out Our fossil record has been kind to this beast. Hundreds of Triceratops bones have turned up in the American West and they're actually hard to avoid at the fossil-rich Hell Creek Formation of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. In , Othniel Charles Marsh — the U.

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Not an adult? The first triceratops fossil was found by George Cannon, near Denver, Colorado, in Triceratops lived in the marshes and forests of North America. This would be similar to the way in which desert animals, like the fennec fox, lose heat through their ears. Up Next. Funny Fill-In. Alternatively, the frill may have helped in thermoregulation controlling body temperature , by allowing heat to escape from the blood vessels. They discovered a T. John Bell Hatcher then found the first full triceratops skull fossil in Suddenly, the two lurch forward and lock horns, pushing against each other like deer clashing antlers.

Although he clearly comes in a close second in the latter case, popular depictions of this horned herbivore have him lowering his pointy visage at the hungry foe, while pawing the earth truculently with a short, muscular foreleg and determined not to be made an easy meal. If he is to go down he will not do so without a fight, one just as likely to leave the pesky predator perforated. One of the largest of the group of horned dinosaurs, Triceratops walked on four legs and had a body that resembled that of a modern rhinoceros.

Triceratops fossils have been found in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Stay in touch by subscribing to our newsletter! Subscribe to the Active Wild newsletter for fascinating articles, news, offers, reviews and more. Rex Ali and Sean travel back 66 million years to get a look at the most famous dinosaur of all time—the Tyrannosaurus Rex! Because both of the partners were trying to impress each other, it might mean that these animals shared some parenting duties. It would have used its bird-like beak to eat shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. Each battery had tooth columns in each side of the jaw, with 3 to 5 teeth per column. Puzzles Letter Predator Guess the letters to spell out the secret words. As the animal matured the horns began to twist forward and straighten out. The first known fossils to be that of a Triceratops were horns attached to a partial skull, found near Denver, Colorado in A large triceratops may even have been capable of fending off a T. They had up to teeth that were constantly being replenished and arranged in groups called batteries. It is believed that fully grown Triceratops were about 8m 26ft in length, 3m 10ft in height and weighed anywhere between 6 to 12 tons. Currently, 2 species of Triceratops are recognised, namely Triceratops horridus and Triceratops prorsus , although considerably more species have been proposed.