triceratops

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous, about 68 to 66 million years ago. The name means “three-horned face.” The type species, Triceratops horridus, was described by O. C. Marsh in 1889. Several additional species have been proposed, but their validity is debated, and many researchers consolidate them within a single species or treat the taxonomy as unsettled.

Triceratops was a large, quadrupedal herbivore with a massive skull dominated by a bony frill at the back and three facial horns: two long brow horns and a shorter nasal horn. The skull could reach roughly two meters in length, and the animal could attain around 7 to 9 meters in body length and weigh up to about 12 tons. The beaked mouth and dental batteries allowed processing of fibrous plant material such as conifers and ferns.

Feeding likely involved cropping vegetation with the beak and processing it with cheeks and the dental batteries to grind tough material. The frill and horns may have served for display, species recognition, or defense, and the frill may have helped support jaw muscles or regulate heat; the exact function is debated.

Fossils are most common in Late Cretaceous formations of western North America, including the Hell Creek and Lance formations. Some paleontologists have posited social behavior, including possible herding; however, the extent of gregariousness remains debated. Triceratops coexisted with Tyrannosaurus rex and other iconic dinosaurs near the end of the age of dinosaurs.