Triceratops is a kind of dinosaur that everyone is familiar with. Children as young as three years old can blurt out their names accurately. The animatronic triceratops model is also the most common dinosaur in the entire dinosaur exhibition. Triceratops appeared in The North American continent in the late Cretaceous was one of the ceratosaurus dinosaurs that appeared before the third Cretaceous event, and it is also a very successful evolution of dinosaurs. Their fossils are found in North America, 68 to 65 million years ago, and are often used as representative fossils of the late Cretaceous. The close relatives of Triceratops, horned horned dragons and distant horned horned horned dragons also survived in the same period, but their fossils were rarely found.
As a medium-sized four-footed dinosaur, Triceratops is approximately 9.1 meters long, 3.2 meters high, and weighs more than 4502 kilograms. They have very large head shields and three horns, which are similar to current rhinos, but Triceratops are heavier and heavier. The most prominent feature of Triceratops is their large skulls. Their head shields are more than 2 meters long and can reach one-third of the entire body. There is a short horn above the nostril of the Triceratops and a long horn above each of the two eyes. , Up to 1 meter.
Behind the head of the Triceratops is a relatively short bone neck shield. Triangular assault the neck shield is very hard, there is no cavity in it, it is a complete bone plate, which can well protect your neck from being bitten by carnivorous dinosaurs. Male triceratops are likely to have brightly colored patterns on their neck shields to attract females.
Triceratops have large horny mouths, hard teeth, and are covered with enamel, which can easily chew and chew a variety of foods. The teeth of Triceratops are arranged into a tooth system, each row is composed of 36-40 tooth groups, and there are 3-5 rows of tooth groups on the upper and lower sides of the jaw. Triceratops has a total of 433-801 teeth, of which only a few are in use And the teeth of Triceratops are constantly growing and replacing. Teeth are used to cut food. There is a strong and powerful beak-shaped process on the top. It can cut food. There is a strong and powerful beak-shaped process on the top. It can transmit the shearing force to the beak and teeth. It can be vertical or near vertical. Direction to smoothly cut plant leaves.
At the same time, Triceratops also have a strong posture, the cervical and thoracic vertebrae are extremely developed, and the belt is closely linked to the back vertebra. Its limbs are strong, its forelimbs are two-thirds of its back, and its feet are wide, which helps to balance and run steadily. The forefoot has five short hoofed toes and the hindfoot has four short hoofed toes. Strong muscles are attached. The tail is relatively slender, and there is a certain distance from the ground. The fin-like structure of the early horned dragon is no longer available. Although Triceratops have been identified as quadrupeds, their posture has long been debated. The forelimbs of Triceratops are thought to stretch from the chest to the sides, crawling on the ground like a lizard to help bear the weight of the head. In recent years, paleontologists have adjusted the shape of the two front legs of Triceratops, thinking that the two front legs of Triceratops should be more upright, and the distance between them should be smaller.
Star Dinosaur Triceratops
Animatronic dinosaur Triceratops
Due to the large number of triceratops fossils found in the same location, paleontologists speculated that triceratops is also a group living animal. As phytophagous dinosaurs, they are generally considered to be gentle and kind, but the Triceratops under the anger will also have a strong attack power. Humans speculate that they will be like the musk oxes of today. When encountering threats, the adult Triceratops will form a circle, protect the cubs in the circle, and become an active castle, with long horns to resist the enemy.
In the distant Late Cretaceous, Triceratops had had several duels with their strong physique, sharp horns and Tyrannosaurus. In the past, people thought that Triceratops would rush to the target at high speed to stab each other when treating predators. In fact, Triceratops are not strong enough to withstand strong impact forces, so they are likely to suddenly swing the head from the side. The corner of the eyebrow came to hit the Tyrannosaurus, and carried out a pick and kill.
In addition to using head angles to resist predators, animatronic triceratops may use head angles to collide with each other. Studies have shown that this collision behavior is reasonable and feasible, but there is no evidence that Triceratops have this behavior. Sores, holes, damaged hair and other wounds on the heads of Triceratops and other Ceratosaurids are often thought to be caused by horns fighting each other. A recent study concluded that there was no evidence that these scars were caused by fighting. left. There is no evidence of infection or healing, and bone loss or unknown bone disease is the source of these scars. The Triceratops that survived the last minute of the dinosaur era is a wonderful flower under the afterglow of the Mesozoic. Today they tell us everything about 65 million years ago with ancient wreckage.
