Triceratops

Triceratops horridus. Credit: Futaka Kouhei‬..

*Triceratops* is an extinct genus of triceratopsinin ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous.

## Description

The strong bodies and legs of the *Triceratops* would have been great for long distance movement. In 2020, the Montana Dueling Dinos was reclaimed from private collections and received by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The specimen preserves a *Triceratops* and a *Tyrannosaurus*, both exhibiting soft tissue preservation and paleopathologies .

## History

*Triceratops* was discovered by George Lyman Cannon in Denver, Colorado. Lyman discovered a pair of inward-pointing brow horns, bringing them to Othniel Charles Marsh who drew the conclusion *Triceratops* was a genus of Pliocene bison. He named it *Bison alticornis*, it was later corrected by Charles Arthur Guernsey, to which the material was renamed by Marsh to fit the new designation of ceratopsid dinosaur.

Because or Cope and Marsh's rivalry from 1877-1892, many of the fossils discovered were assigned a new taxa are considered to be material wrongfully assigned to a new genus. Because the scientists had been so petty, many specimens were damaged, lost and descriptions were rushed. Many of which fossils, belonged to *Triceratops*. These fossils were found in varying areas, causing them to hastily classify them as new genera. Many, now defunct, species of *Triceratops* and genera like *Agathaumas* and *Polyonax* are considered dubious.

## Synonyms

### Species Synonymy

* *"T." albertensis*
* *T. alticornis*
* *T. brevicornus*
* *T. calicornis*
* *T. elatus*
* *T. eurycephalus*
* *T. flabellatus*
* *T. galeus*
* *T. hatcheri*
* *T. ingens*
* *T. maximus*
* *T. mortuarius*
* *T. obtusus*
* *T. serratus*
* *T. sulcatus*
* *T. sylvestris*
* *Bison alticornis*
* *"T." montanus*
* *"T." xerinsularis*

### Genus Synonymy

* *Agathaumas*?
* *Polyonax*?
* *Sterrholopus*
* *Claorhynchus*?
* *Ugrosaurus*
* *Eotriceratops*?
* *Nedoceratops*?
	+ *Diceratops*
	+ *Diceratus*
* *Ojoceratops*?
* *Tatankaceratops*?
* "Duranteceratops"?

## Paleobiology

### Paleopathology

Many specimens of *Triceratops* show lesions, bite marks and various other injuries that suggest many things about *Triceratops*' lifestyle. Lots of attributed material shows injury caused by other individuals horns, which caused paleontologists to theorize intraspecific battles between individuals, likely for mating purposes. Farke compared *Triceratops* and *Centrosaurus* arrangements, stating the following; both types of ceratopsids would have fought in different styles, accumulating injuries in the same locations on their bodies. To test this, Farke searched for skulls from both animals showing injuries, being fractures or periosteal reactions. Compared to *Centrosaurus*, *Triceratops* had ten times as many lesions on the squamosal bone, 14% of injuries in *Triceratops*, only 3% *Centrosaurus*. He notes, there is no reason to believe individuals targeted certain "hotspots", believing that most of these injuries were inflicted others' horns. he states larger horns would have caused more violent and intense rituals and display. He concludes saying that *Centrosaurus* likely flanked rather than head-on, having more postcranial injuries .

Many *Triceratops* fossils show signs of lesions, bony growths caused by infection and bite marks from other animals, such as *Tyrannosaurus*, which would have been a likely predator. The Montana Dueling Dinosaurs specimen preserves a juvenile *Tyrannosaurus* (*Nanotyrannus*?) and a *Triceratops* corpse laying next to one-another. The two are thought to have fought and died in the the same location. Both preserve paleopathologies, the theropod showing multiple bone breakages and a deformity, with the *Triceratops* showing bite marks. However, both corpses could have washed together, not killed via battle as popularly assumed .

### Ontogeny

    In 2011, Jack Horner performed a study where he cut open Dinosaur skulls. He was searching for immature bones within the skulls of the animals. Some of the animals that were dissected were *Nedoceratops*, *Ojoceratops*, *Tatankaceratops*, Triceratops and *Torosaurus*.

From the study, it was concluded that the animals were all growth stages. The growth of Triceratops goes in order, as the following from youngest to oldest: *Ojoceratops*, *Triceratops*, *Nedoceratops*, *Tatankaceratops*, and *Torosaurus*. Because *Ojoceratops*, *Tatankaceratops*, *Nedoceratops* and *Torosaurus* were all discovered after Triceratops, they are now invalid genera and considered synonyms of *Triceratops* or nomen dubium.

However, it is still debated whether *Torosaurus* is a dubious genus. Some conclude it was likely a close relative, and a rare ceratopsian that lived in the Hell Creek Formation; a distinct taxon. While others conclude that *Torosaurus* was a full grown adult. The topic is in need of study, and *Torosaurus* is still taxonomically valid. As of now most of these genera are considered dubious, but the topic is in need of further investigation. The genera *Agathaumas* and *Polyonax* are now considered dubious because of similarities with *Triceratops* material, and the genus *Sterrholophus* has been confirmed to consist of material attributed to *Triceratops*.

Some believe *Nedoceratops* (including dubious genera *Diceratus* and *Diceratops*) to be an ontogenetic growth stage of *Triceratops*. With the discovery of large skull, named *"T." albertensis* with large upturned brows found in the Scollard Formation and given the ID NMC 8862. The material represents a Late Cretaceous-aged ceratopsian, preserving most of the left half of the skull, starting near the horncores, 2 dorsal vertebrae and a couple ribs. Additionally, NMC 9542 an occipital condyle and fragmented crest and NMC 8861 brow horns, a dentary and many frill fragments are referred. Some believe these remains to belong the the previously-thought-dubious genus *Nedoceratops*, because the material is thought to have been from a mature individual that would have towered over the average human stature. Due to this, the species *"T." albertensis* is specified to be in-need of change, and these remains have had little publication since initial description. The holotype is CMM 8862, and is 2.75 meters long .

### Unnamed Specimens

An unnamed species of *Triceratops* from the Hell Creek Formation. It is based off of specimens MOR 3027 (Yoshi's Trike) and UCMP 128561, not yet being given a name . However, several museum specimens are currently labelled as T. sp., such as a specimen previously from the Black Hills Institute, now at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, nicknamed "Lane". This specimen of T. sp. is one of the most complete *Triceratops* skeletons known, found near the famous *Edmontosaurus* mummy. Presence of skin samples on the carcass were noted, before excavated in large blocks. At least four skin types have been identified .

## Paleoecology

*Triceratops* lived in North America, all fossils dating to before the K-PG mass extinction. Fossils are excavated in the Hell Creek, Laramie, Denver, Scollard, Lance and Evanston Formations, all in layers containing Maastrichtian-aged deposits. The Hell Creek Formation is among the most well-known of *Triceratops* fossils.

The *Triceratops* would have traveled as a large herd. Whenever predators would have attacked the herd, it has been theorized that the healthy adults would form a ring, and the young and weak members would go into the center of the ring. This formation would form a trough wall of horns, making it virtually impossible for the predators to pick off any member of the herd. *Triceratops* was preyed upon by a diverse array of predators. Juveniles would have been suitable prey for the large dromaeosaur *Dakotaraptor*, and full grown individuals a challenging meal for massive predators like *Tyrannosaurus*. Both species are found from Hell Creek, *T. horridus*, *T. prorsus* and a transitional species from the middle layers. Small theropods like *Acheroraptor* and caenagnathids, with large ornithomimids, hadrosaurs like *Edmontosaurus*, a vast array of fishes and crocodilians. Parts of Hell Creek overlooked the Western Interior Seaway and parts of the Fox Hills Formation.

### Distribution

Remains of Triceratops have been uncovered all across the Laramidian coast. Remains have been found in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. Rubey et al. (1961) cite a *Triceratops* cf. *flabellatus* (=*T. horridus*) mandible, among others, from the Evanston Formation. However, *flabellatus* is synonymous with *T. horridus*, which is typically diagnosable through the nasal horn. Additionally, the mandible is generally nondiagnostic for ceratopsids. As well, the mandible is cited to have existed through personal ties, and as such no institutional data can identify the specimen. Therefore, the Evanston record is dubious and cannot be classified about Ceratopsidae.

## Classification

*Triceratops* is a member of Ceratopsidae, a group of ceratopsians that includes the chasmosaurs and the centrosaurs. In chasmosaurinae, *Triceratops* fits into triceratopsini with closely-related genera such as *Regaliceratops*, *Torosaurus* and *Titanoceratops*. Below is a simplified cladogram that displays where *Triceratops* is currently classified in Chasmosaurinae, forming a clade with *Torosaurus*.

*Triceratops* (*Diceratops)*, or just *Diceratops* was suggested to have been a subgenus of Triceratops before made synonymous with *Nedoceratops*, and then *Triceratops*.

## Notable Specimens

* MOR 2569 "Afternoon Delight": A juvenile *Triceratops* mounted at the Museum of the Rockies.
* "Cliff": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of Science in Boston.
* "Dio": A *Triceratops* at the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto. It was discovered by scientific illustrator and paleoartist Danielle Dufault. It is named after the vocalist of Black Sabbath.
* AMNH 5116 "Doyle": A *Triceratops* or *Torosaurus* at the American Museum of Natural History.
* "Fafnir": A *Triceratops* at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
* MOR 1120 "Getaway Trike": Housed at the Museum of the Rockies.
* MOR 154452 "Harley's Baby": A juvenile *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* USMN 4842 "Hatcher": A *Triceratops* at the National Museum of Natural History.
* BMRP 2006.4 "Homer": A skeleton housed at the Burpee Museum of Natural History. A specimen named after The Simpsons character, discovered during a 2005 expedition led by the Burpee Museum to Hell Creek. The site produced BMR 2005 CH 1 through BMR 2005 CH 16, these are (in order): a possible cylindrical and phalange, a possible rib head, vertebrae and neural arch, rib shaft, rib shaft, rib shaft, femur, rib, "flat platy bone", "flat platy bone", "flat platy bone", rib shaft, "flat platy bone", an unidentified bone, rib shaft and a possible arm bone. Other bones include 3 left nasals, which indicates the presence of 2 other individuals at the site The exposed bones were wrapped in plaster. The site was confirmed to be 64 square meters and had 139 bones. It is now displayed alongside Jane.
	+ "Bart" and "Lisa": Two other specimens from the Homer *Triceratops* site, as indicated the presence of 3 left nasals. They were humourlessly nicknamed "Bart" and "Lisa" by Steve Brusatte's The Rise and the Fall of the Dinosaurs, to match "Homer".
* MOR 2923 "Joe's Trike": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* MOR 2951 "Juvie Trike III" or "Golfball Trike": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* "Kelsey": A *Triceratops* mounted at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
* HMNS 2006.1743.00 or HMNS VP1506 "Lane": Housed at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, is labelled as *T. sp.* Previously at the Black Hills Institute, the specimen was found near the world-renowned *Edmontosaurus* mummy, and preserved one of the most complete specimens known to date with at least four differing types of skin samples.
* MOR 004 "MORT": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* DSTtD-0035 "Nana": A *Triceratops* housed at an unknown location.
* NSM-PV 20379 "Raymond": Named after a local rancher, Raymond is one of the best known specimens and the only articulate *Triceratops* known. It lays on its right side, with the left left eroded during the Pleistocene, and was weathered away, and reburied until recent times. Only the skull anf tail bones were repositioned during excavation. it is mounted at the National Museum of Nature and Science.
* MOR 1110 "SG-5": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* MOR 1199 "Sierra" or "Sierra College Trike": A Triceratops at the Museum of the Rockies, discovered and collected by Sierra College[*citation needed*].
* MOR 2999 "Situ But Sad": A *Triceratops* at the Museum of the Rockies.
* MOR 3027 "Yoshi's Trike": An intermediate specimen between *T. prorsus* and *T. horridus*, representing an unnamed species from the Hell Creek Middle Formation. It's horns are 115 centimeters long, the longest of any recorded specimen, and is mounted at the Museum of the Rockies.
* UCMP 128561: Yet to be given a name, affiliated with Yoshi's Trike and, in turn, *T. sp.*. It was originally named *Ugrosaurus* after being discovered by David Fastovsky in the summer of 1983. It is a partial premaxilla, rostral, partial nasal with a low nasal boss, and fragmented dentary, a frill and postcrania.
* MOR 2980 "TriSarahTops": A specimen discovered by Sarah Keenan, whose name is a pun of the discoverer's. The specimen is poorly preserved, found ~100 meters east of MOR locality HC-571.
* "Dirk": A 9-meter-long 5900-12,000-kilogram-heavy *T. horridus* known from a double-segmented site in Wyoming. This specimen bears upturned horns and is likely male. This site also bears other remains including ceratopsian trackways. This specimen was prepared by a team including Olof Moleman. Dirk is ~55% complete in bone volume and ~20% in bone number. 61/300 partial bones were recovered.
* "Big John": A specimen put up for auction in 2021, found to be the largest *Triceratops*. Big John; it sold to an anonymous private collector on October 21 for ~€6.65 ($7.74; £5.6) million, a European record. This specimen is described as "[a] miracle of nature and work of art", and is riddled with many paleopathologies, including a laceration on its collar gained from a smaller individual from either territorial defense or courtship. Found first in 2014, ~60% of the skeletal system is found. It was sold by the Drouot auction house, with 10 interested buyers. A partial skull, fragmentary ribs, partial vertebrae, thighbones and partial forelimbs are known.
* UCMP 113697 "Ruben's Trike": A large *T. horridus* skull, likely representing a transitional form of *T. horridus* and *T. prorsus*. It was found in locality V75046 of Montana, discovered on a July 1970 expedition by John Ruben. It is one of the largest Triceratops skulls.
* UCMP 136306 "McGuire Creek Trike": A medium-sized skull found in the Hell Creek badlands near a creek drainage. Wayne Thomas (1984) on a UCMP field research trip first found the fragmented skull. Mark Goodwin and crew identified it as a juvenile, and a near-complete one. Goodwin and Jack Horner later researched it, filling in the ontogenetic series of *Triceratops*.
* "Henry" (formerly "Headless Henry"): A ~40% complete skeleton ~30% larger than any *Triceratops*. It is housed in the Missouri Institute of Natural Science, and was excavated by Matt Forir and volunteers. It was first nicknamed Headless Henry since it lacked a skull, and after Forir's son. Henry is likely male, with 50% were first found. It weighed 40,000 pounds, stood 30 feet long and 11 feet high. The excavated was retracted due to little progress, and the head was only recovered when a lab was flooded, washing the foam cranial replica all over town. When the fragments were retrieved, bought and restored, it was found the head fit Henry's body perfectly. However, it was restored too small, and needed to be made 10% larger to fit. Henry died near to a stream, where a logjam was found washed against him. His bones were spread apart after decomposition and scavenging. Near, they found "*Nanotyrannus*", mammal and bird teeth.
* "Horridus": A *T. horridus* (hence the nickname) specimen housed at the Melbourne Museum. It is a full skeleton with few missing elements, being one of the most complete *Triceratops* known. In 2014, part of a pelvis was found protruding from sandstone in Montana. It was prepared in Victoria, Vancouver and packed into 7 large crates to fly to Melbourne. In Melbourne, every bone was scanned, measured, labeled and mounted for display. It was the center for an exhibition at the museum titled "*Triceratops*: Fate of the Dinosaurs".
* "Alice": A skull discovered by biology student on June 4 during a two week expedition with Michael Kjelland from North Dakota. The expedition was previously uneventful, and the base of the frill was recognized at the surface. Excavation was difficult and meticulous, with special glue having to be applied periodically, taking about a week to fully uncover. A local cattle rancher and family helped make a crate and load the specimen onto a truck for transport. The specimen was named after the woman who owned the land. The discoverers hope that Alice can travel worldwide to be used as an educational exhibit. The right eye is missing a horn.
	+ "Skull X": A skull, vertebrae and ribs belonging to three individuals, discovered on the same expedition.
* "Lucky Trike": A skull discovered by Lindsay Zanno.
* "Count Trikeula": A Triceratops frill discovered "a few years ago" (as of 2021), and is held at the Badlands Dinosaur Museum, where it underwent restoration. A 3D model was created and printed to mirror and restore the skull, where it was then painted to look authentic.

## Gallery

### Reconstructions

Julio Lacerda**Credit: Tom Parker.****Credit: CisioPurple on DeviantArt.****Credit: Gabriel Ugueto.****Credit: Cindy Raggo.****Credit: Fred Wierum.**Subadult T. prorsus.
**Credit: XStreamChaos on DeviantArt.**Triceratops sp. (Yoshi's Trike) from the Hell Creek middle third Formation. It has yet to have been given a formal name.
**Credit: @DrSpooksArt on Twitter.****Credit: FinwalSMD on DeviantArt.**
### Mounts

T. sp. "Lane"Skull cast housed at the Royal Ontario Museum.Montana's Dueling Dinos cast."Hatcher"A sculpted mount with strange cranial features that were not present in the real animal.Triceratops at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.Yoshi's Trike, a specimen with 115 centimeter long horns. The specimen represents a juvenile individual, of the unnamed T. sp..Triceratops sp., "Lane"."Fafnir""Hatcher" cast.Hatcher at "Sue: The T. rex Experience"."Hatcher".Mount at the Royal Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences.NHMUK R 10957."Dirk"."Big John"."Big John"."Henry"."Raymond".
### Diagrams

**Credit: Get Away Trike.**"Homer"."Horridus"."Horridus" compared to a Melbourne tram. Model by Paul Ramos.
### Fossils

Lindsay Zanno, discoverer and paleontologist, and "Lucy Trike"."Alice"."Count Trikeula" before restoration.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triceratops

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/EoFauna/status/1321035495674122240
2. ↑ https://naturalsciences.org/calendar/news/north-carolina-museum-of-natural-sciences-to-receive-the-dueling-dinosaurs/
3. ↑ https://dinoanimals.com/dinosaurdatabase/triceratops-montanus/
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/g.s.paul2016theprincetonfieldguidetodinosaurs/page/n258/mode/1up
5. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2009/01/27/old-wounds-show-that-triceratops-used-its-horns-for-combat/
6. ↑ https://duelingdinosaurs.org/
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/fadeno\_paleoart/status/1358925771717410816
8. ↑ http://www.paleofile.com/Dinosaurs/Ornithopods/Diceratops.asp
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/EoFauna/status/1321035495674122240/photo/1
10. ↑ http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=889
11. ↑ Longrich, Nicholas & Field, Daniel. (2012). Torosaurus Is Not Triceratops: Ontogeny in Chasmosaurine Ceratopsids as a Case Study in Dinosaur Taxonomy. PloS one. 7. e32623. 10.1371/journal.pone.0032623.
12. ↑ https://www.skyemcdavid.com/blog/2022/evanston-triceratops
13. ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_dinosaur\_specimens\_with\_nicknames#Ceratopsians
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/Paleoartologist/status/1153126912857976832
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-rise-and-fall-of/9780062490438-item.html
16. ↑ https://twitter.com/TyrannoDinoHiro/status/1437201945005936640
17. ↑ http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=76
18. ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/ugrosaurus-olsoni-a-new-ceratopsian-reptilia-ornithischia-from-the-hell-creek-formation-of-eastern-montana/1E0689493179D693B6384281E252BD14
19. ↑ ONTOGENETIC AND STRATIGRAPHIC CRANIAL VARIATION IN THE CERATOPSID DINOSAUR TRICERATOPS FROM THE HELL CREEK FORMATION, MONTANA, Scanella (2015)
20. ↑ https://www.naturalis.nl/system/files/inline/Manual%20Dirk.pdf
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/LordTrilobite/status/1434940354264977408
22. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58998367
23. ↑ https://www.firstpost.com/photos/world-gallery/big-john-worlds-largest-triceratops-fossil-to-go-under-the-hammer-at-paris-auction-house-9942621-8.html
24. ↑ https://twitter.com/EmuLarge/status/1451433570296373249/photo/1
25. ↑ https://t.co/sOKpLU4ZZI?amp=1
26. ↑ https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/2013/02/cataloging-the-archives-three-fine-trikes/
27. ↑ https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/04/12/henry-triceratops-finally-gets-fossi-lhead-missouri-institute-of-natural-science/3404680002/
28. ↑ https://www.monatsci.org/the-museum
29. ↑ https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whats-on/triceratops-fate-of-the-dinosaurs/home-of-horridus/
30. ↑ https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whats-on/triceratops-fate-of-the-dinosaurs/
31. ↑ https://abcnews.go.com/US/biology-student-helps-discover-65-million-year-triceratops/story?id=64562977
32. ↑ https://twitter.com/harrison\_duran/status/1493636839533527043
33. ↑ https://twitter.com/DavidEvans\_ROM/status/1501233193487380487
34. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdOU6XMcH14&ab\_channel=CityofDickinson-CityHall