What did a triceratops eat?

What did the Triceratops eat?

Diet of the Triceratops By studying a dinosaur’s teeth, scientists can estimate what type of food they likely ate. We know that this species was herbivorous because they had flattened teeth perfect for grinding plant matter. Researchers also believe that these dinosaurs fed on low vegetation, because their heads were rather low on their body.

When was the first Triceratops fossil found?

The first triceratops fossil with horns attached was found in Denver, Colorado in 1887. Triceratops were huge dinosaurs with three horns that were herbivores, or plant-eaters. They lived during the late Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago.

How many legs does a Triceratops have?

One of the largest of the group of horned dinosaurs, Triceratops walked on four legs and had a body that resembled that of a modern rhinoceros. Triceratops had a head decorated with a frill, a nose horn, and two long brow horns.

Why did Triceratops have horns on their teeth?

Scientists believe that their large volume of teeth suggested that they ate large volumes of fibrous plant material each day and that these large batteries of teeth were needed to replace the ones that were damaged by wear and tear. Currently, there are two theories which suggest what the horns of the Triceratops were used for.

How much did Triceratops weigh?

The Triceratops could weigh anywhere between 6 and 12 tons. Which is about the weight of a modern diesel truck. This dinosaur measured over 10 feet in height. That is as tall as a first story building. This dinosaur has approximately 400 to 800 teeth during the course of its lifetime.

Where did the name Triceratops come from?

Since then, Triceratops specimens have been found all over North America. The name of this dinosaur translates into “3 horned face” from the Greek “Tri” meaning three and the word “keratops” meaning face.

What did Triceratops eat?

Since then, Triceratops specimens have been found all over North America. The name of this dinosaur translates into “3 horned face” from the Greek “Tri” meaning three and the word “keratops” meaning face. It is believed that Triceratops ate mostly low growth vegetation such as ferns and shrubbery.

When was the Triceratops first discovered?

The Triceratops is a quadrupedal herbivore that lived during the late Cretaceous period—or about 68 million years ago. This dinosaur was first discovered near Denver, Colorado in 1887. When it was first discovered it was believed to have been an unusual type of bison.

What was the average lifespan of a Triceratops?

For now, no one really knows what the average lifespan of Triceratops must have been. Triceratops were the last of the non-avian dinosaurs to have walked on the face of the Earth. The last of these dinosaurs are believed to have lived almost 68 to 65 million years ago.

How many horns does a Triceratops have?

Triceratops had 3–4 foot long horns over each eye, and in life they would be covered in a horn sheath. Like the horns of cattle today, they would make deadly weapons against predators. There is a smaller horn on the nose that could also inflict damage, but its size makes it less deadly.

How did a Triceratops stand?

There are two theories about how a triceratops stood. It either had all four legs erect or had it’s front legs semi erect. If all four of it’s legs were erect then it could in theory gallup, but if it’s front legs were only semi erect it could only walk at slow speeds.

Where can you find Triceratops fossils?

Paleontologists also discovered Triceratops remains and fossils in modern-day eastern and western Wyoming, northwestern Dakota, central Colorado, eastern Montana, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Although huge and strong, Triceratops didn’t eat meat and were strict herbivores.

How big is a Triceratops compared to a car?

The average car is two tons, so the smallest triceratops weighed as much as three cars! Triceratops had a frill, or piece of skin and bone, around its neck to protect it. Triceratops had two big horns on top of their heads and one horn on the front. They used their horns to protect them from predators, usually other dinosaurs, like the T-Rex.

What kind of teeth did Triceratops have?

Triceratops is known for its distinguished trio of horns, but the dinosaur’s teeth are just as distinctive, a new study finds. An analysis of 66-million-year-old Triceratops ‘ teeth shows they are more complex than reptilian teeth, and rival the complexity of chompers found in mammals’ mouths.

Did you know Triceratops only had two real horns?

With its three horns and giant frill, the triceratops is one of those outsize dinosaurs that have captured the public’s imagination almost as much as Tyrannosaurus rex. But later discoveries about triceratops—including that it had only two real horns—might surprise you. Here are 10 facts about the once-mighty plant-eater: 01

How would a Triceratops defend itself against a Tyrannosaurus rex?

The triceratops would keep its head facing the tyrant at all times as they each tried to intimidate the other. In most cases the trike would drive off the tyrant who would not want to risk injury. If the Tyrannosaurus was hungry enough for a fight then this is where things get interesting. Triceratops was a very well defended dinosaur.

What is the size of a Triceratops?

At 30 feet long and 12,000 to 14,000 pounds, Triceratops was the largest of the ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs, to inhabit the semi-tropical world of the Late Cretaceous Period. Triceratops was of the biological order ornithischia, meaning related to birds, and laid eggs.

Did Triceratops have a beak like mouth?

Snip Snap – Triceratops had a hard, beak-like mouth that it used to slice through tough vegetation. Surprisingly, they are one of the few dinosaurs that were not closely related to birds, and did not have feathers. Though they looked somewhat like a parrot in the face, they were purely reptilian.

What did dinosaurs eat in the Cretaceous period?

Flowering Plants. During the early Cretaceous, angiosperms quickly supplanted cycads and ginkgoes as the main source of nutrition for plant-eating dinosaurs worldwide; at least one genus of duck-billed dinosaur, Brachylophosaurus, is known to have feasted on flowers as well as ferns and conifers.

What was the first dinosaur fossil ever discovered?

Barnum Brown discovered a Triceratops skull in Wyoming. It was the first dinosaur fossil Brown ever discovered. Marsh described the new species Triceratops calicornis. Marsh described the new species Triceratops obtusus.

Why did the Triceratops go extinct?

Triceratops fossils date to the very end of the Cretaceous period, just before the K-T asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs. By then, paleontologists believe, the pace of dinosaur evolution had slowed to a crawl and the resulting loss of diversity, combined with other factors, virtually guaranteed their quick extinction.

How old is the Triceratops horn?

A Triceratops brow horn discovered in Dawson County, Montana, has been controversially dated to around 33,500 years, challenging the view that dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago. The finding radically suggests that early humans may have once walked the earth with the fearsome reptiles thousands of years ago.