Triceratops fact file

Triceratops Facts for Kids. Check out our fun Triceratops facts for kids and learn all about this popular dinosaur.

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 and adults. Read on for an in-depth look at this familiar Cretaceous animal …. Triceratops may have been a plant eater, but with its three fearsome horns, armoured frill and powerful body, it was no pushover. Triceratops lived in the Late Cretaceous Period. Triceratops lived towards the end of the Cretaceous period, appearing around 68 million years ago. It lived right up to the Cretaceous—Paleogene Extinction Event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. Triceratops lived in the marshes and forests of North America. Triceratops fossils have been found in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Triceratops was built like a rugby player, not a ballerina! Triceratops was squat and powerfully built, roughly the size of an elephant. It walked on four, thick legs, and had a short but powerful tail.

Rex attack.

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. There are 15 state dinosaurs in total.

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.

Triceratops fact file

Three horns and twelve tons of fun, Triceratops is one of the best-known dinosaurs , spotted everywhere from museums to picture books, toy stores to cinema screens. Because of this, and because a large number of specimens have been unearthed, Triceratops is also a much-loved and well-studied species with a number of intriguing questions still up for debate. Roughly the size of an elephant, this hefty herbivore walked on four legs and lived around the same time as the T. Part of the Ceratopsidae family of horny quadrupeds, its name literally means Three Horn Face, which sounds like a nickname it was given at school, but of course references its distinctive appearance, including a bony frill that extended from the top of its skull. For me, one of the reasons I like it is it almost looks like a heraldic beast. You can imagine having a Triceratops skull on your coat of arms. Triceratops had a big head.

Chip hazard

Try This! Each battery had tooth columns in each side of the jaw, with 3 to 5 teeth per column. The Triceratops is one of the most easily recognizable dinosaurs due to its large body, unique frill and three horns. Triceratops may also have used its horns against other triceratops in battles to attain dominance, just as animals such as rhinos and deer use their horns today. It would have used its bird-like beak to eat shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. However, triceratops may have also been solitary animals, as most fossils found have been of solitary individuals. It may also have used its strength to knock over larger plants in order to acquire food. As the animal matured the horns began to twist forward and straighten out. Rex attack. Amazing dino discoveries Paleontologists are constantly learning new things about these ancient animals—in fact, scientists find more than 45 new dinosaur species each year! They could have up to teeth, arranged into groups called batteries. The Evolution study notes show each battery had 36 to 40 tooth columns in each side of each jaw and three to five teeth per column. Triceratops Facts for Kids Check out our fun Triceratops facts for kids and learn all about this popular dinosaur.

Even if your dinosaur phase came and went a few decades ago, you'll probably recognize Triceratops. The frilled, three-horned herbivore died out

Watch Dino Road Trip. Because both of the partners were trying to impress each other, it might mean that these animals shared some parenting duties. Triceratops was first described in by American Palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh , who had been sent some fossilised triceratops horns. Weird But True! Sign up today and receive a FREE printable animal fact sheet with your welcome email. It most likely used its horns and strength to tip over taller and larger plants to acquire food, and for defence. Thank you for visiting Active Wild! Cliff the triceratops, on display at the Boston Museum of Science. The first triceratops fossil was found by George Cannon, near Denver, Colorado, in Triceratops may also have used its horns against other triceratops in battles to attain dominance, just as animals such as rhinos and deer use their horns today. The horns of a full-grown triceratops reached over 1 m 3 feet in length. Tyrannosaurus Rex.