Triceratops Description
Triceratops Horridus was a Cretaceous herbivore of North America. It boasted three powerful horns protruding from its beak and forehead, as well a large frill coming from behind its neck. This made this herding herbivore very powerful to the point where it even rivaled the likes of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Could You Outrun a Triceratops?
The average running speed of a Triceratops was 20 mph, meaning that it was considerably faster than the average running speed of an adult human, clocking at around 15 mph. Still, the Triceratops was not a very fast dinosaur, they had to be well equipped to defend themselves from predators. Triceratops had one small nose horn and two extremely large horns on its eyebrows. These could be used for intimidation or even physical attacks like stabbing larger predators like Tyrannosaurus Rex. However its real power came from its massive herding among its species. Large groups with around 20 Triceratops would consist of the larger, more powerful ones on all perimeter sides defending the young, sick, old, or weak in the middle. With all this taken into consideration, Triceratops would be no easy prey even with its lack of a capability of high speeds.
Are You Bigger Than a Triceratops?
No one has ever been at all close to the giant size of Triceratops. It weighed 12 tons which is more than how much the T-rex weighed. Triceratops was 10 feet tall at the hips and was 30 feet long. That’s almost as long as the average school bus! Just because Triceratops was an herbivore and not a carnivore doesn’t mean that it has to be small.
Fun Facts
- The name “Triceratops” means three-horned face, a direct reference to the impressive skull of this creature.
- Triceratops likely had quills either on its tail or on its lower back region.
- It is a common misconception that Triceratops had a crest, when in reality that “crest” was actually a frill.
- Triceratops did not eat grass for grass as we know it was not yet around during the time of Triceratops.
- Triceratops had a parrot-like beak.
- Triceratops had roughly 800 teeth that helped it break down all the plant and fruit matter it ate.
Dino-mite Equations!
Question #1: How many Triceratops would there be if there were 4 average herds of them?
Answer #1
80!
Question #2: Would a row of 2 Triceratops be longer, shorter, or the same length as a row of 1.5 Tyrannosaurs?
Answer #2
Shorter at 60 feet compared to 64.5 feet!
Question #3: How many horns would 16 Triceratops have combined?
Answer #3
48!
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