Triceratops Dinosaur

Triceratops existed during the late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago. Tricertops were very interesting dinosaurs, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about this great dinosaur.

Triceratops were 25-30 feet in length, 9.5-10 feet tall, and 15,000 to 25,000 pounds. Triceratops skulls are very distinctive, they could grow up to 7 feet in length, which was about 1/3 of their body length. Also the Triceratops had 3 horns that grew from its skull. One above its notrils, and one above each of their eyes. Triceratops had four legs which had hooves connecting to their feet. Although a very large dinosaur Triceratops was a herbivore. It would have mainly ate low lying plants and cycad. It's also been suggested the Tricertops knocked down trees with its horns to retrieve vegetation on high branches. Triceratops were able to protect themselves from predators because of their large heads and horns. It was difficult for any predator to take down a Triceratops. Some discoveries have shown bone fragments within a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil some of which may have been from a Triceratops. It suggests that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was in fact a predator to the Triceratops.

In 1889 Othniel Marsh named the Triceratops. He first found the fossil near Denver, Colorado. Which is also part of the Rocky Mountains, where Triceratops are generally found. In 1888 John Bell Hatcher found the first Triceratops skull. A complete Triceratops skeleton has never been found. Which is the reason we know so little about such a great dinosaur. Triceratops have been found in both Canada and North America usually in the Rocky Mountain region.

Triceratops belonged to the genus Ceratopsidae. This genus consisted of large horned dinosaurs. n. The Rocky Mountains extend from Colorado into Canada.