How Tall Was Triceratops ?
The triceratops was a bizarre looking animal, the nearest comparison being with today’s rhinoceros. It had a bulky body and a relatively short tail. The body was supported by four sturdy legs. The animal stood about 10 feet tall and was 30 feet in length of which the head alone was 10 feet, the largest of any dinosaur. It weighed between 6 and 12 tons. |
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The distinctive and unusual feature of the triceratops was its battle armor. This comprised of a bony ruff that grew from the back of the skull and three horns. One short horn was located above its parrot like beak while the other two, much longer, grew from behind the eyes. Paleontologists conclude that the triceratops defended itself from attackers by lowering its head and charging with this formidable armament.
The triceratops was herbivorous. Unlike other dinosaurs that did not masticate and merely swallowed their food, the triceratops had an abundance of cheek teeth with which it chewed its food. It is presumed to have moved in herds judging by the finds of bones of several animals in a common pit. It remains unclear as to how they procreated but the species is generally believed to have hatched from eggs.
The triceratops was native to western Canada and western United States. The first fossil was found in 1888 by John Bell Hatcher though it was named by the paleontologist Othniel Marsh only the following year from a fossil found near Denver, Colorado. The species is believed to have lived between 72 and 65 million years ago toward the end of the age of reptiles and before the dinosaurs became extinct.
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