Triceratops are one of the most famous types of dinosaurs. They have been named the state fossil of South Dakota and named the state dinosaur of Wyoming. A person can watch Triceratops interact with other dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park and read about them in many children’s books (Triceratops Wikipedia). Triceratops are part of the Ornithischian family. Triceratops were named by Orthniel Marsh in 1889 after some brow horns were found near Denver, Colorado in 1887 (Fastovsky). This dinosaur had a skull up to 8ft long with a single horn above its nostrils and two horns above its eyes, which fits the meaning of its name the Three-Horned-Face. Triceratops also have a boney, small frill that could have been used for combat, or a source to control their body temperatures (Triceratops Wikipedia). They also had 4 legs and hoof like claws with a short-pointed tail.
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Triceratops are quadruped herbivorous creatures (The Guardian). According to an article written by Marcia Malory a study was conducted in Montana at a place called Hell Creek Formation. At first paleontologist thought they had identified two different species, and named them Triceratops horridus and Triceratops prorsus, based on the size and shape of the horns and the structure of the skull (Malory). They did not have enough information to make an accurate statement about how they evolved until later when they studied skulls found in the upper Hell Creek formation. These findings showed evolutionary changes from the skulls found in all three levels of the rock. The skulls found in the lower sections had the T. horridus features and the upper level skulls shared characteristics with the T. prorsus. The skulls found in the middle had both so the latest statistics state that T. horridus probably evolved into T. prorsus over one to two million years
Triceratops are quadruped herbivorous creatures (The Guardian). According to an article written by Marcia Malory a study was conducted in Montana at a place called Hell Creek Formation. At first paleontologist thought they had identified two different species, and named them Triceratops horridus and Triceratops prorsus, based on the size and shape of the horns and the structure of the skull (Malory). They did not have enough information to make an accurate statement about how they evolved until later when they studied skulls found in the upper Hell Creek formation. These findings showed evolutionary changes from the skulls found in all three levels of the rock. The skulls found in the lower sections had the T. horridus features and the upper level skulls shared characteristics with the T. prorsus. The skulls found in the middle had both so the latest statistics state that T. horridus probably evolved into T. prorsus over one to two million years