Triceratops (try-sare-uh-tops) was a genus of large horned dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous.
Characteristics[]
Large Triceratops could grow to around 9 meters in length, 3.5 meters in height, and 12,000 kg in mass.
Triceratops possessed a proportionally large frill. It was a Chasmosaurine, a subfamily noted for smaller horns when compared to their frills. However, for a Chasmosaurine, Triceratops had fairly large horns.
Imprints have revealed that Triceratops had a series of quills on its back.
The living creature[]
Triceratops was a herbivore, probably a low-level browser.
The use of the horns and frill have been analyzed. Popularly, Triceratops is depicted as the "dinosaur hero," a plant-eater that fearlessly faced T. rex in battle. The horns seem to have been weapons used against other Triceratops for conflicts, perhaps over territory. Triceratops specimens have been found with what seem to be hones caused by the horns of other individuals. However, the frill is fairly brittle, and probably would be damaged in a charge, meaning that Triceratops might not have turned its horns on attacking Tyrannosaurs like it is popularly depicted as doing.
Importance[]
Along with Stegosaurus and T. rex, Triceratops is the most famous dinosaur. It appears frequently in books, documentaries, films, and toys. Along with Stegosaurus and T. rex, it is the only dinosaur that is widely known by the general public in developed nations.
Recently, a debate has arisen when some paleontologists concluded that the related genus Torosaurus was actually the adult Triceratops. This led to media articles and social media videos with titles such as "Triceratops didn't exist." However, due to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), the original name will be chosen as being valid. Triceratops was named before Torosaurus, meaning, if they are indeed the same genus, "Triceratops" will still be correct. At the same time, not all paleontologists are convinced that they are indeed synonymous.