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TRICERATOPS

Triceratops horridus

Meaning: "Three-Horned Face"

🌿 Herbivores 🦶 Quadrupedal 🕐 68.0-66.0 Ma

📊 STATS

📏 Length 7.9-9.0m

📐 Height 2.9m

⚖️ Weight 12.0t

💨 Speed 32 km/h

Size comparison:

As long as a school bus!

📖 ABOUT TRICERATOPS

Meet Triceratops, the three-horned face! This plant-eating powerhouse roamed North America during the Late Cretaceous period, looking like a walking fortress!

Imagine a giant rhino with three horns and a huge bony frill – that’s Triceratops! This amazing dinosaur lived about 68 to 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. Triceratops was a herbivore, meaning it munched on plants like ferns and cycads. Its strong beak helped it tear through tough vegetation, and it probably used its powerful legs to push over trees to get to the tastiest leaves. The most striking feature of Triceratops was its large frill, which could be up to six feet wide, and its three horns. Scientists believe the frill might have been used for display, maybe to attract a mate or scare away rivals. The horns were likely used for defense against predators like Tyrannosaurus Rex! While Triceratops was a quadruped, walking on all fours, it could probably move pretty quickly when it needed to, reaching speeds of up to 32 kilometers per hour. Fossils of Triceratops have been found in North America, giving us a great glimpse into the life of this incredible dinosaur.

🔬 CLASSIFICATION

Group: Ceratopsia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Period: Late Cretaceous (100-66 Ma)
Era: 68.0 - 66.0 million years ago

🗺️ DISCOVERY

Year: 1887
Discovered by: Othniel Charles Marsh
Location: Colorado, USA
Fossils found in: USA (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota), Canada

🎨 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION

Artistic reconstruction of Triceratops based on fossil evidence

🗺️ WHERE FOSSILS WERE FOUND

USA (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota), Canada

🤓 FUN FACTS

✨ Triceratops' horns weren't just for show – they were probably used to fight off predators like T-Rex!
✨ The Triceratops' frill was made of bone and might have been brightly colored to attract mates!
✨ Triceratops means 'three-horned face' in Greek!
✨ Baby Triceratops had smaller horns and frills than adults.
✨ Triceratops lived at the same time and in the same place as Tyrannosaurus Rex!

💡 DID YOU KNOW?

Get this! Scientists used to think Triceratops and another dinosaur called Torosaurus were different species. But now, some believe Torosaurus might just be a fully grown Triceratops with a more developed frill!