Triceratops
Triceratops was a genus of herbivorous dinosaurs that lived around the end of the Cretaceous period. All species lived on the North American continent and are, like all the other dinosaurs, extinct now. It was about 9 metres (30 feet) long and probably weighed around 5,400 kg. The name means "three horned face".Triceratops was discovered by John Bell Hatcher in 1888. Its declaration as a legitimate dinosaur came when an intact skull was found. Previous to this, it was misidentified as a type of buffalo.
The Triceratops is a part of the Ceratopsids family which included dinosaurus very semiliar to the Triceratops and only differ in size and skull shape. For example: Torosaurus, Protoceratops, Pentceratops etc.
The Triceratops belongs to the Ornithiscians dinosaurs (means: "bird's hip") and was walking on four. It length was estimated
|
|
|
advertisement
|
between 8-11 meters and his weight moved between the 5-8 tons. Paleontologists believe that Triceratops lived in herds like dinosaurian buffalo or mooses. Its food was plants and shrubbery and it used its beak to cut down branches with leafs. Behind the beak the Triceratops had 2 line of teeth, sharp as guillotine, which cut down the food when the Triceratop chew the food.
The Triceratops had very large skull filled with hugh muscles and hard bones. The Triceratops had one short horn above its nose and two long horns above its eyebrows. The skull ended with a large boney feril which protected the neck.
Scientist think that the horns and the feril were used for serveral purposes:
- A mean of defence against carnivors such as the Tyrannosaurus rex.
- A mean of communication between the herd members.
- A mean of battering another Triceratops over female or territory.
- A mean of courting after the female.
- A statue symbol which reflects (or determines) the Triceratops statue in the herd.
- T. americanus
- T. horridus