Triceratops lived in the late Cretaceous Period (around 65 million years ago). It is believed that fully grown Triceratops were about 8m (26ft) in length, 3m (10ft) in height and weighed anywhere between 6 to 12 tons. (5,000 kg) — some large specimens weighed nearly 15,750 lbs. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. It may have eaten a range of plants, including ferns, cycads and palms. By the time ceratopsian dinosaurs reached North America, during the late Cretaceous period, they had evolved to the size of cattle, but their distant progenitors were small, occasionally bipedal, and slightly comical-looking plant-eaters that roamed central and eastern Asia. A herd of Triceratops crossing a dry desert. More fossils of Nedoceratops and a distinctly juvenile specimen of Torosaurus would settle the debate, Scannella said. Along with its fellow plant eaters, Triceratops was doomed by the loss of its accustomed vegetation, as clouds of dust circled the globe in the wake of the K-T catastrophe and blotted out the sun. The first known fossils to be that of a Triceratops were horns attached to a partial skull, found near Denver, Colorado in 1887. , Science Kids ©  |  Home  |  About  |  Topics  |  Experiments  |  Games  |  Facts  |  Quizzes  |  Projects  |  Lessons  |  Images  |  Videos  |  Privacy  |  Sitemap  |  Updated: Apr 11, 2020. Artwork by Scott Hartman reveals the bone structure of Triceratops.

The forelimbs, which were shorter than the rear ones, each had three hooves; the rear limbs had four hooves each. Triceratops is a type of ceratopsid dinosaur which was a herbivore. [Tiny & Old: Images of Triceratops Ancestors]. As with all such anatomical structures in the animal kingdom, this thin flap of skin over solid bone likely served a dual (or even triple) purpose. Despite the fact Triceratops was a herbivore, it was a formidable creature, and could be as long as 30 feet and weigh up to 12,000 pounds.

The two brow horns appear to have twisted and lengthened as a Triceratops aged, according to a 2006 study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Joe Tucciarone / Science Photo Library / Getty Images. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, /* sci facts 160 */ Triceratops was represented in the popular Transformers toy line and animated series as Slag, an Autobot that could transform into a Triceratops form.
Since Triceratops' discovery in 1887, up to 16 species of the dinosaur have been proposed, but only two species — T. horridus and T. prorsus — are currently considered valid, according to a 2014 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which found that T. horridus likely evolved into T. prorsus over a span of 1 million to 2 million years. The US state of Wyoming lists the Triceratops as its state dinosaur. They further suggested the frill holes of Nedoceratops are pathological (related to a disease or health issue). Triceratops was confined to North America because the continent had already split from Europe and, along with South America, had begun to drift across the ocean by the time the dinosaur evolved. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors?