Triceratops
What do you already know about this horned dinosaur?
Can you say...
try - ser - uh - tops
The name Triceratops means ‘three horned face’.
Triceratops lived at the very end of the Cretaceous Period just before all the dinosaurs became extinct. There were other dinosaurs that were very similar to it such as Centrosaurus and Styracosaurus. They were all horned dinosaurs called ceratopsians.
Triceratops walked on all four of its thick, short, elephant like legs. Its back legs were a bit longer than its front ones. They had a very solid body and a very big head! Its head was very big for its body and could be up to 2 and a half metres long, while his body was about 9 metres long. It was a very big, heavy, slow moving dinosaur!
Triceratops had three horns on top of its head, which it would have used for protection against dinosaurs like T-Rex who wanted to eat it! They also used them to fight other Triceratops too. The two horns above his eyes would have been bigger than the one in the middle by his nose. It also had a type of shield called a frill protecting its neck that was made out of bone.
One Triceratops fossil was found with 58 holes in it...from T Rex biting it!
Did you know...
Triceratops was a herbivore, which meant it would have only eaten plants. It had a beak type mouth and lots of teeth which helped it rip leaves from trees and plants as well as grind the leaves down. This was something many herbivore dinosaurs couldn’t do and Triceratops could choose to eat tough leaves other dinosaurs avoided.Â
Many dinosaurs that were herbivores lived in herds as another way of protecting themselves against other dinosaurs who wanted to attack them. It is thought that Triceratops however didn’t do this and spent large parts of their life by themselves.
Triceratops fossils have been found in what is now America and Canada. Lots and lots of them have been found, Triceratops fossils are one of the most common dinosaur fossils found.
What we've learnt...
The name Triceratops means ‘three horned lizard’.
People pronounce its name try – ser – uh – tops
Triceratops lived in the late Cretaceous Period at the same time as T Rex.
Triceratops was a ceratopsian, which was a type of dinosaur that had horns.
The main predator for a Triceratops was Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Triceratops was a herbivore. It chewed its food with its teeth, unlike some dinosaurs.
Test your knowledge...
Triceratops Quiz
If you click the correct answer the box will turn green. If its the wrong answer it will turn red and then show you what the correct answer was. Make sure you read/listen to the questions carefully!
#1. Was Triceratops…
#2. What type of dinosaur was Triceratops?
#3. How many horns did Triceratops have?
#4. Have only a few Triceratops fossils been found?
#5. When did Triceratops live?
Results
I really hope you have enjoyed learning all about Triceratops, with me Flash!
Question Time...
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The photos on this page are of dinosaur models and computer generated images. They are used to give you an idea of what the dinosaurs would have looked like, but I can’t guarantee they are 100% accurate!
Creative Commons Images, used with thanks…
Triceratops by MathKnight – CC BY-SA 3.0
T Rex and Triceratops by Matthew Dillon – CC BY 2.0
Other photos and illustrations on this page are Whizzbots or Public Domain Images.