Triceratops is a genus of horned dinosaur (family: Ceratopsidae) that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous, about 68–66 million years ago. Its name means "three-horned face" derived from ancient Greek: τρί- (tri-) meaning "three", κέρας (kéras) meaning "horn", and ὤψ (ops) meaning "face".
Triceratops was armed with three sharp horns and a solid bony frill that could serve as a shield to its neck. The brow horn cores measured 90-115 cm long and may have been longer when covered with keratin sheath while it was alive. They were sharp, strong, and robust, perfectly suited for combat. Combined with its bulk, this bulldozer, built for a frontal attack, could stand up to the power of T. Rex and defend itself successfully in combat. There is even documentation in fossil records of a Triceratops surviving an attack by a Tyrannosaurus rex, and recently, a Tyrannosaurus fossil with a puncture wound matching a Triceratops horn was discovered. Although an herbivore and usually peaceful, when Triceratops was disturbed or provoked, it was a very dangerous animal, capable of both impaling and trampling whatever stood in its path.
Triceratops was one of the largest Ceratopsians, measuring 8–9 meters long and weighing about 6,000–12,000 kg. It stood up to a height of 3 meters. It was as big as a bull African elephant. It was a quadruped herbivore with a very efficient digestive system which included a dental battery and a sharp horny beak that could handle even the toughest vegetation. There were probably two species of Triceratops: T. horridus and T. prorsus. They are known mainly from the Maastrichtian layers of the Lance Formation and Hell Creek Formation in the northwest United States but were also discovered in other places such as Alberta, Canada. Had they not been confined by oceans and the Western Interior Seaway, they would probably expand even further.
Triceratops was one of the most successful dinosaurs of its time (and the most common in its habitat) and the last to stand before the K-Pg extinction wiped out all dinosaurs (excluding the avelians, a.k.a birds). Today, it is one of the most famous, popular, and well-known dinosaurs, rivaled only by the fearsome Tyrannosaurus and the huge Apatosaurus. It was named and described by Prof. Othniel Charles Marsh, with the help of fossil hunter John Bell Hatcher.
Triceratops is my favorite dinosaur and this is why I have created this webpage. Emphasis was placed on reliable and scientifically accurate information, but as paleontological research advances, our body of knowledge and general view of dinosaurs, and in particular, Triceratops, may change rapidly.
טריצרטופס הוא סוג של דינוזאור במשפחת הצרטופסיים שחי באמריקה הצפונית בקרטיקון העליון, כ-68-66 מיליון שנה לפני זמננו. פירוש שמו הוא "פרצוף בעל שלוש קרניים" ומקורו ביוונית עתיקה: טרי = שלוש, קראט/צראט = קרן, אופס = עין, פנים, פרצוף (וליתר דיוק: החלק בפנים שסביב העין).
הטריצרטופס היה חמוש בשלוש קרניים חדות והיה בעל עטרה מוצקה מעצם עבה שבלטה מהעורף והגנה על הצוואר. ליבות העצם של הקרניים שמעל העיניים היו באורך 90–115 ס"מ, וכאשר היו מכוסות בקרן בעת שהייצור היה בחיים, הן היו אף ארוכות יותר (ייתכן שאף באורך 130–150 ס"מ). הקרניים היו חדות, חזקות וחסונות, והיוו כלי נשק מצוין בקרב. בשילוב המסיביות שלו, בולדוזר זה, שהיה בנוי לקרב חזיתי, יכל לעמוד בפני עוצמתו של הטי-רקס ולהגן על עצמו בהצלחה בקרב. יש עדויות במאובנים לכך שטריצרטופס שרד התקפה של טירנוזאורוס רקס והחלים מפצעיו ולאחרונה התגלה מאובן של טירנוזאורוס שעצם הירך שלו מנוקבת מפגיעת קרן טריצרטופס. למרות שלרוב היה שליו ורגוע, כבעל חיים אוכל צמחים, כאשר הופרע או הותקף הוא היה בעל חיים מסוכן, עם יכולת לרמוס ולשפד כל מה שעמד בדרכו.
הטריצרטופס היה אחד הצרטופסים הגדולים ביותר. אורכו המירבי נע בין 8 ל-9 מטר, ומסתו בין 6,000 ל-12,000 ק"ג (6–12 טונות). גובהו היה כ-2.9 עד 3.6 מטרים. הוא היה גדול כפיל סוואנה אפריקני. הטריצרטופס הלך על ארבע רגליים והיה אוכל צמחים. מערכת העיכול שלו הייתה יעילה מאוד וכללה סוללות שיניים מפותחות ומקור חד שאפשר לו לחתוך ולעכל אפילו את הצמחייה הקשה ביותר. ככל הנראה היו שני מינים טקסונומיים של טריצרטופס: טריצרטופס הורידוס וטריצרטופס פרורסוס. מאובני טריצרטופס נמצאו בשכבת הגיל הגאולוגית של המאסטריכט, בעיקר בתצורת לאנס ובתצורת הל קריק בצפון-מערב ארצות הברית, אך גם באלברטה, קנדה. לולא היו מוגבלים בידי אוקיינוסים והים הפנימי המערבי, הם כנראה היו מתפשטים לאזורים נוספים.
הטריצרטופס היה אחד הדינוזאורים המצליחים ביותר של זמנו (ונפוץ ביותר באזור מחייתו), וחי עד להכחדת קרטיקון-פלאוגן שבה הוכחדו כל הדינוזאורים, למעט העופות. כיום הוא אחד הדינוזאורים הידועים והאהובים ביותר, שני אולי רק לטירנוזאורוס והאפטוזאורוס הענק. הוא נתגלה, תואר והוגדר מדעית על ידי הפרופסור עותניאל צ'ארלס מארש, בעזרת צייד המאובנים ג'ון בל האטצ'ר.
הטריצרטופס הוא הדינוזאור האהוב עליי, ודף זה מרכז מידע עליו, כולל מאמרים, תמונות ומולטימדיה. הושם דגש על תוכן מהימן ומדויק מדעית, אך מאחר שהמחקר מתקדם מהר, תמונת הידע שיש לנו על דינוזאורים בכלל וטריצרטופס בפרט, משתנה מהר.
Triceratops - statue by Sideshow Collectibles, photograph by Zachi Evenor
Table made by Dr. Zachi Evenor and MathKnight, Wikipedia (Table in English - Table in Hebrew - Table as Image)
Prof. Peter Dodson, The Horned Dinosaurs, Princeton Press, 1998.
Dr. Thomas R. Holtz Jr, Dinosaurus Genera List, (Info) Last updated: 2012.
Benson, RBJ; Campione, NE; Carrano, MT; Mannion, PD; Sullivan, C et al. et al. (2014). "Rates of Dinosaur Body Mass Evolution Indicate 170 Million Years of Sustained Ecological Innovation on the Avian Stem Lineage". PLoS Biol 12 (5): e1001853. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001853..
Alexander, R.M. (1985). "Mechanics of posture and gait of some large dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 83: 1–25.doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1985.tb00871.x..
For sale, the 'world's largest dinosaur skull': 9ft-long intact Triceratops fossil is set to reach $1.8 million at auction, Daily Mail, 27 April 2015. This skull was not yet described in a scientific paper.
MOR 3027, named Yoshi's Trike has horn cores 115 cm long. See: Scannella, J.; Fowler, D.; Goodwin, M; Horner, J.; Evolutionary trends in Triceratops from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana , Research Gate, June 2015.
"Willard", a Triceratops fossil 28 feet (8.5 m) long and 11.8 (3.6 m) high: Fossil Realm
See full-size: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zachievenor/29052672438/
I know this skeletal reconstruction by O. C. Marsh is inaccurate, but it is the only one available in the public domain.
I knoSee full-size at https://svpow.com/2013/07/18/tutorial-15c-the-bones-of-the-ornithischian-skeleton/ or in Flickr
"Hatcher", Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, United States (source: Michael Barera)
Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta, Canada (source: Etemenanki3)
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States (source: Ryan Somma)
Triceratops prorsus, Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, California, USA (source: Allie_Caulfield)
Here are pictures of Triceratops on a white background. They are all taken from Wikipedia and thus free to use (as long as the creator is attributed). Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Triceratops_on_white_background
The creators of the white background source images are Etemenanki3, PawełMM , Nicholas R. Longrich*, Daniel J. Field, L.E. Spry , Ceasol , sabreguy29 , Allie_Caulfield , EvaK , Scott , Andrew Kerr . Most were edited and put on white background by MathKnight .
This is my coloring of the following 3D CGI model of Triceratops horridus, see https://www.deviantart.com/swordlord3d/art/Museum-Triceratops-401322768 , created by the talented artist Vlad Konstantinov (SwordLord3D). This image is copyright and used in permission by the author.
Triceratops at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, New York, USA
These are embedded links, click on each photo to see high resolution source
These are embedded links. Click on each image above for its source (at each author's gallery).
Triceratops , MathKnight's Google Site
Triceratops: Facts about the three-horned dinosaur , Live Science
DinoDirectory: Triceratops , London's Museum of Natural History
Triceratops horridus by Zachi Evenor , in Flickr
Skeletal Reconstruction by Scott Hartman
Videos about Triceratops , playlist on YouTube
Triceratops , Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)
Triceratops and Triceratops Inside , DK FindOut, Dorling Kindersley (good for children and teens)
Hatcher the Triceratops , Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Triceratops vs Tyrannosaurus , video by Sam Fernandez
Triceratops statue , Sideshow Collectibles
Podcast on Triceratops by I know Dino, YouTube (just audio)
Horridus the Triceratops in Melbourne Museum, Australia
Dr. Erich Fitzgerald, Triceratops: A Natural History, Melbourne Museum, 2022
Prof. Peter Dodson, The Horned Dinosaurs, Princeton University, 1996 (1998)
See my reviews page HERE.
This is a note about Triceratops (see Wikipedia), my favorite dinosaur and an amazing impressive successful creature. Triceratops was a Ceratopsid, a big quadrupedal herbivore equipped with long strong horns and a solid bony frill, a sharp beak and an efficient digestive system. Triceratops was 8-9 meters long and weighed about 6 to 8.5 tonnes (6,000-8,500 kg). Some scientists estimated that large individuals could weigh even 10 or 12 tonnes. It had an enormous skull: up to 2.5 meters long and was very heavy and robust. Triceratops probably had the most impressive headgear of all land vertebrates, suited for its style of life.
When first discovered by O. C. Marsh in 1887, 1888, and 1889, the horns and frills of the Ceratopsids were the most prominent feature of these mighty beasts. The first Ceratopsid discovered was Triceratops which had robust long horns and thick solid bony frill. Initially, these structures were interpreted as means of defense against predators, but as more and more genera of Ceratopsids were discovered, each with its own unique ornamentation of horns, spikes, knobs, and frill, and many of them useless for defense (such as the curved nose horn of Einiosaurus or the very small horns of Chasmosaurus. In particular most had thin frills with large “gaps” or fenestrae in the bones which made them useless as a shield), the interpretation of frills and horns as means of defense was disfavored.
Variety of Ceratopsids and their headgear. Source: Wikipedia (Nobu Tamura).
Top line: Pachyrhinosaurus, Centrosaurus, Albertaceratops. Middle line: Pentaceratops, Anchiceratops, Styracosaurus. Bottom line: Triceratops, Torosaurus, Chasmosaurus.
The variety of shapes of frills and horns indicates that their primary use was as a means of display, probably for intra-specific communication, such as courting and identification. This interpretation was substantiated after discovering that the unique shapes of horns and frills developed only when the animal reached sexual maturity, hinting that these structures were used for courtship displays and fighting over mates or territory. Today, this is the accepted theory about the use of horns and frills in Ceratopsids. As a side note, one can say that horns had their sex appeal among Ceratopsids, also because they made their bearers horny. However, the horns and frill possibly had other uses as well, such as thermoregulation or anchoring the jaws’ muscles.
However, the horns and frills of Triceratops were very strong and robust. The frill was solid without any fenestra, and if it was covered in Keratin as Dr. Bob Bakker suggested, it was a formidable shield that could withstand injuries from other horns (Triceratops bulls did fight each other over mates and territory), and even the powerful bite of Tyrannosaurus rex. Its horns were very long (the longest horn documented as I know was 115 cm long, “Yoshi’s Trike” MOR 3027, thanks to Dr. John Scannella for that figure) and yet strong and robust. Almost certainly covered by Keratin (a hard protein that makes the horns in extant bovids such as cattle and antelopes), they were even stronger and sharp enough to impale any predator or adversary that attacked our Triceratops. There is evidence in fossils that Triceratops did use its horns as a weapon, at least against other Triceratopses. Recently, a fossil of T. rex femur was discovered with a gouge injury that matches a Triceratops' horn, indicating that Triceratops used its horns to fend off Tyrannosaurus and other predators. Prof. Peter Dodson estimated that a bull Triceratops was more than capable of defending itself against Tyrannosaurus rex, and had the upper hand if the two had engaged in frontal combat.
Multi-angle view of Triceratops skull. Triceratops had strong long sharp horns and a thick solid frill. Their attributes make them very suitable to be used as weapons or means of defense.
And now comes my theory. The main use of horns and frill in Ceratopsids was primarily as means of display but in Triceratops they were adapted to be used as weapons and means of defense as well. By being better protected against predators (and also by being able to drive away potential rivals over a good territory or mate, being either another Triceratops or other species of Ceratopsids), Triceratops gained an advantage over other Ceratopsids and became the most common dinosaur of the Maastrichtian in Northwest America, while other species of Ceratopsids declined and eventually went extinct. Think about it, if Triceratops was very well protected and dangerous with its sharp horns and solid frill, then a wise predator would rather go hunt a less dangerous meal (i.e. one that cannot kill it), such as less-protected Ceratopsids or Hadrosaurs. Predators are bullies, they go after the easiest prey they can find, and they sure won't want to mess with the most dangerous herbivore around unless they have to. If you get less preyed upon then you have bigger chances to survive and reproduce. This gave Triceratops an edge.
There are more reasons why Triceratops was so successful and certainly, the effectiveness of its horns and frills is not the only one, e.g. Triceratops had a very efficient digestive system, but it is a strong reason that one needs to consider as part of the array of effective and useful features of this mighty herbivore.
And if this theory is true, one can still romanticize and imagine the epic battles between a bull Triceratops and a hungry T-rex.
Zachi Evenor, 2016
Although it wasn't yet described in a scientific paper, the very long-horned Triceratops sp. specimen MOR 3027 (on display at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, USA) represents a new Triceratops species. I suggest naming it Triceratops katana or Triceratops samurai after its long sword-like horns and hinting at its Japanese discoverer, Dr. Yoshi Katsura. Indeed, with its fan-like frill resembling a Samurai's Kabuto helmet, this mighty Triceratops was the samurai of the dinosaur era.
Trike Truck - The coolest truck ever :-)
Triceratops balloon art
For Purim (פורים) or Halloween, get a Triceratops costume for your Dino-buff child or your pet dog!
And what about Triceratops Origami (Japanese folding paper art)?
The purpose of this page is educational. And to convince you that Triceratops is cool.