Triceratops

The name Triceratops is perhaps one of the most hardcore dinosaur names of all time. It literally translates ‘Three-Horned Face’. With their thorny appearance, they weren’t first pick for dino supermodel of the year. But they still had plenty of weight to throw around as they grew to about 30 ft in length, and could weight as much as 9 tons.

Their remains have been found predominantly in North America, which means they shared the landscape with Tyrannosaurus Rex. Their horns and large boney frill would have given them a substantial defensive advantage against large predators like the T-Rex. At the same time, it is believed that these same furious facial features may have played a role in courtship and mating, much as they do with modern day elks, bucks, and other ungulates. Regardless of whether Triceratops’ facial wear was more defensive or procreative only one thing is for sure – you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of their attention.

How do you measure up?

About the Fossils:

Triceratops is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs of all time. This makes their fossils highly collectable, and somewhat rare to come by. Their herbivore teeth feature flattened chewing surfaces, which processed massive amounts of vegetation each day. However, unlike other herbivores, Triceratops had a large beak for chomping hundreds of pounds of vegetation in one bite. Then, it used hundreds of teeth to chew and process it’s food. The repetitive motion of daily chewing continuously wore down these large batteries of teeth, which would have regrown several times through their lifetime.