The Triceratops is a famous dinosaur. It is known for its huge head shield and three large horns. You may think that you know the Triceratops very well, but the fact is not that as easy as you think. Today, we will share some “secrets” with you about Triceratops.
1.The Triceratops cannot dash to enemy like Rhino
Many restored pictures of Triceratops show them rushing towards the enemy like rhinos, and then stabbing them with the large horns on their heads. In fact, Triceratops can’t do that. In 2003, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) filmed the paleontology documentary “The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs”, which simulated Triceratops slamming into the enemy. The film crew made a 1:1 Triceratops skull using a material similar in texture to bones, and then conducted an impact experiment. The result was that the nasal bone was broken at the moment of impact, proving that the strength of the Triceratops skull could not support its sprinting.
2.Triceratops had curved horns
The large horns are the symbol of Triceratops, especially the two long large horns above the eyes, which are powerful and domineering. We have always thought that the horns of Triceratops grew straight forward as if they were preserved in fossils, but research shows that only the bony part of the horn is preserved, and the horny part that wraps the outside has not become a fossil. Paleontologists believe that the horny sheaths on the outside of Triceratops’ great horns became curved with age, so the shape of the horns was different from the fossils we see in museums.
3. Triceratops with masks
If you look carefully at the Triceratops skull, you will see that its face is ridged and criss-crossed, like the wrinkled surface of a dehydrated apple. Triceratops should not have such a wrinkled face when they were alive. Paleontologists believe that the face of Triceratops should also be covered with a layer of horny, as if wearing a mask, which plays a certain protective role.
4. Triceratops have spines on their buttocks
In addition to the Triceratops fossils, a large number of Triceratops skin fossils have been discovered in recent decades. On the skin fossils, some scales have thorn-like protrusions, and the skin on the buttocks of Triceratops resembles a porcupine. The structure of the bristles is to protect the buttocks and improve the defense behind.
5. Triceratops occasionally eat meat
In our impression, Triceratops seems to be like a rhinoceros and hippopotamus, a vegetarian with a bad temper, but paleontologists believe that they may not be purely herbivorous dinosaurs, and occasionally eat animal corpses to supplement their body needs of microelements. The hooked and sharp horny beak of Triceratops should work well when cutting corpses.
6. Triceratops can’t beat Tyrannosaurus Rex
Triceratops and the famous Tyrannosaurus lived in the same era, so everyone thinks that they are a pair of friends who love and kill each other. Tyrannosaurus will prey on Triceratops, and Triceratops can also kill Tyrannosaurus. But the real situation is that Tyrannosaurus Rex is the natural enemy of Triceratops. The natural enemy means that it means to eat them exclusively. The evolutionary trajectory of Tyrannosaurus family was born to hunt and kill large ceratopsians. They used Triceratops as their staple food!
Did the above six points of “secrets” about Triceratops make you re-acquainted with them? Although the real Triceratops may be a little different from what you think, they are still one of the most successful dinosaurs. In North America in the late Cretaceous, they accounted for 80% of the total number of large animals. It can be said that the eyes are full of Triceratops!
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Post time: Dec-01-2019