Evening star., 1915-07-04
TR|CERATOPS SPECIMEN
AT NATIONAL MUSEUM
Carcass of Animal Dead Thousands
Of Years Found in the Hanna
Basin, Wyoming.
Story of Its Being Found Makes Big
Game Hunters Exploits Look
Small for a Time.

A big-game hunter of considerable
fame recently dined at the Metropol-
itan Club while on a short visit to this
city. Among those who sat about the
table and heard him tell of his hunting
exploits in the far west was local
scientist. The audience was 'sympa-
thet1c and the B. G. H. waxed en-
thusiastic in his anecdotes. The rest
of the diners sat open mouthed and
GREATNESS as he told of how he had
tracked down and done to death almost
every kind of animal in North Amer
ica. Then the scientist spoke up.
Did you ever run across tricera-
tops?" he interrupted.
The B. G. H, checked in mid d-course.
tried to smile and said that he never
had.
You would never want to-" said the
did And he sat back and smiled
Somebody whispered go on and he
told about it. If the reader wishes to
verify his story all that is necessary
and see the specimen. 1t must have
been some hunt. For the triceratops
(Which means three horned face'D
was found among the coal bearing
rocks of the Hanna basin. Wyoming.
over each eye was "A massive horn dl-
rected forward and terminating in a
long sharp point, and the nose usually
bore third but much smaller horn.
mounted specimen in the National Mu-
scum is about twenty feet long and
stands eight feet high at the hips.
In certain instances skulls have been
found which measure more than eight
feet, over one-third the length of the
entire animal This great length of
head is due largely to the remarka BILE
hony development called the frill.
which projects backward over the neck
like a f1reman's helmet.
Draws Vivid Picture of Hunt.
The scientist drew his word picture
of the hunt vividly. He went into the
hardships and failures of the man who
finally obtained the perfect specimen
And throughout the recital the Il. g. IL
listened in sort of fascinated incre-
dulity. The rest of the party now re-
sarded his pursuit of the grizzlies he
had told of in the same light as boy
hood chipmunk hunts.
He didn't kill it with Il small can
non.' concluded the scientist: "Ls got
it with an Az. And while the diners
were still gasping he rose to leave. Il
forgot to say. he called back over his
shoulder. that the triceratops lie got
had been dead some thousands OF
years. Good night. gentlemen"
The party broke up shortly there
after.
That triaeratops, although plant
eater. was a fighter and often engaged
in combat appears to be shown by the
broken and healed bones that have
been found. Although triceratops had
an enormous head. it had smaller
brain in proportion to it's size than the
least Intelligent land animal Of the
present time.
Contemporary with the Triceratops
was a great duck billed reptile related
'rvor had Ion n inhj H..
vidual measured thirty feet from the
tip of its nose to the end Of its tail. and
as it walked erect on it's huge three
toed hind feet the top of the head wa.
twelve or fifteen feet from the ground
The head was nearly yard In length
and the fore part of the skull was ex-
banded to form a broad beak that wa:
covered with a horny sheath, as il
birds and turtles. This was admirably
suited to the pulling up of the rushe!
and other water pants that consti'
tuted the food of this great creature
These trachodont reptiles lived in the
swamps and rivers. One of the mos
remarkable features about this reptile
was its mouth, which was armed witt
1000 or more separate teeth. arranged
in vertical rows. Each jaw had from
forty-five to sixty rows and from ter
to fifteen teeth in each vertical row.
Protected by Bony Armor.
Ankylosaurus was an armored dino
saur whose entire back was covered by
fattened ridged-skin plates of bone
The animal was low of stature. had a
short, blunt head. and carried on the
end Of it's stout, heavy tail great tri-
angular club of bone. Even the eyes
were provided with a cup-shaped bony
shutter, like the visor of a helmet
which could be closed over the eyeball
so that all the vulnerable parts of this
animated fortress were protected by
bony armor. The horned toad" one
of the small modern lizards of the
western plains. is not very different
from the armored dinosaurs except ir
size.
The most striking Of the flesh eating
dinosaurs was the Tyrannosaurus, OF
tyrant lizard, the largest carnivorous
animal that ever lived on land. 1t was
forty feet in length. and when 1t stood
erect the top of its head was eighteer
to twenty feet above the ground. The
fore limbs were small. and it must have
walked entirely upon it's powerful hind
legs. A perfect skull of this animal i:
exhibited in the American Museum OF
Natural History in New York city. The
laws are four feet in length and bristle
with sharp pointed teeth. several o
which project six inches from Their
sockets.