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Where Did The Triceratops Live ?
The triceratops is believed to have lived in western Canada and the western part of the United States. The first fossil was a skull found by John Bell Hatcher in 1888. But the triceratops was so named the following year by the paleontologist Othoniel Marsh from a fossil found near Denver, Colorado which he mistakenly took to be that of an extinct species of buffalo. |
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The triceratops lived at the fag end of the age of reptiles from 72 to 65 million years ago. It was one of the last of the dinosaur species to have evolved just prior to extinction. Judging by fossil finds of a large collection of bones from several animals in the same pit, it is presumed that the triceratops was a herding animal. However the precise form of reproduction remains unclear though it is thought they hatched from eggs.
The triceratops was herbivorous and an animal that masticated its food before swallowing. In this it differed from other dinosaurs largely because of the preponderance of cheek teeth in its parrot-like beak. It had a bulky body and short tail. The length of an adult was around 30 feet of which the head alone comprised 10 feet. The head bristled with armor -- a bony plate resembling a ruff that grew from the back of the skull and three horns. The shorter horn grew above the beak and a pair of longer horns came from just behind the eyes. It is fair to presume the animal defended itself by charging with this weaponry.
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Dinosaur:
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. More..
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