Facts About Triceratops
The triceratops was an unusual looking animal that resembled the rhinoceros, the closest comparison with any living animal today. The huge head of the triceratops was a third the size of the body at a length of up to 10 feet. |
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Facts About Triceratops:
A large bony plate, a little like a frill projected from the back of the skull and it had three horns on its face, one short atop a beak like that of a parrot and two longer horns above the eyes. These no doubt were the animal’s armament with which it charged its enemies when attacked. The jaws were powerful with many cheek teeth. The triceratops walked on four sturdy feet. The body, which weighed from 6 to 12 tons was about 30 feet long and 10 feet tall with a short, pointed tail. The legs had hoof-like claws. It is presumed the triceratops reproduced through eggs.
The triceratops lived during the period 72 to 65 million years ago toward the end of the age of reptiles known as the Mesozoic Age. It evolved just before the dinosaurs became extinct around 65 million years ago, perhaps one of the last of the dinosaur species along with Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ankylosaurus and others.
A large collection of bones have been found in the same bed leading paleontologists to conclude that the triceratops was an animal that moved in herds. It was an herbivore that could chew well with its preponderance of cheek teeth unlike most dinosaurs which swallowed without masticating.
The triceratops was believed to have inhabited western Canada and the western US. The first fossil was found in 1889 by paleontologist Othniel Marsh near Denver, Colorado.
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