This week we’re going back to the Cretaceous with one of the most iconic dinos of all time - Triceratops!
The name literally means “three-horned face”, and it’s easy to see why it earned that moniker. Two big brow horns, one on the nose, and a solid frill at the back of the skull. It's like a Rhino and a lizard had a baby!
These chunky herbivores lived around 68–66 million years ago, right at the tail end of the dinosaurs' multi million year long reign. They’re often shown squaring off against T. Rex in an epic prehistoric MMA showdown, but in reality they were more about munching ferns than picking fights, though I imagine they defended themselves pretty well!
This week, I’ve sketched out a classic Triceratops head to show off those iconic horns and frill - basically the dino equivalent of a sword and shield combo.
Triceratops didn’t have deadly serated knife teeth, and instead had a constantly replenishing conveyor belt of teeth suited to grinding tough plant matter. They also grew big, like up to 12 tonnes big, which means eating a lot of greens!
Fun fact: Triceratops had up to 800 teeth in their jaws, arranged in tightly packed stacks called "dental batteries." When one tooth wore down the chewing, another 'popped up' to take its place!
