Triceratops

65 million years ago, the huge plant-eater Triceratops might have competed with his cantankerous contemporary Tyrannosaurus Rex for survival, as today he competes with his ancient nemesis for popularity among dinosaur buffs. Although he clearly comes in a close second in the latter case, popular depictions of this horned herbivore have him lowering his pointy visage at the hungry foe, while pawing the earth truculently with a short, muscular foreleg, and determined not to be made an easy meal. If he is to go down he will not do so without a fight, one just as likely to leave the pesky predator perforated.

Judging from the fossil remains of Triceratops, found primarily in western North America, he seems to have been a formidable opponent for any would-be carnivore. A thick, bony ridge sprouted from the back of his head, and above each eye a four-foot horn protruded. A third, shorter horn surmounted his beaked mouth. At 30 feet long and 12,000 to 14,000 pounds, Triceratops was the largest of the ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs, to inhabit the semi-tropical world of the late Cretaceous Period. Triceratops was of the biological order ornithischia, meaning related to birds, and laid eggs. Relatives included the five-horned Pentaceratops, the fancy-frilled Styracosaurus, and the tiny Bagaceratops, a mere three feet in length. The name Triceratops means "three-horned face," and was given by 19th-century paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh, who originally thought that a Triceratops skull belonged to a bison (Benton: 123). Triceratops walked on four stout legs, dragging its thick tail behind.

In addition to the aforementioned Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops shared his prehistoric world with the club-tailed Ankylosaurus, the duck-billed plant-eaters Corythosaurs and Parasaurolophus, and the carnivores Deinonychus and Albertosaurus. Some evidence suggests that Triceratops have may traveled in herds, like cattle, which may have afforded some protection against predators, who would have had difficulty penetrating a phalanx of sharp horns and bony rills, if indeed such defensive organization was possible in creatures with such small brains. Whatever Triceratops' defense tactics were and despite the formidable natural arsenal which he possessed, he lost on occasion, evidenced by Tyrannosaurus teeth marks on fossilized Triceratops bones. More subtle threats to Triceratops included small, wily predators who snatched eggs from nests.

The speed and agility of Triceratops is much debated, with one camp stating that he was slow, lumbering and not a considerable challenge to most predators. On the other side is the assertion that Triceratops could defend himself with the speed and ferocity of the modern rhinoceros, charging and goring potential enemies. Triceratops' beak could clamp down with tremendous force, ideal for snapping through thick vegetation, which he then ground up with a set of molars particularly suited for this task. The treacherous horns aside, Triceratops could probably deliver a nasty bite to an unwelcome predator (Bakker: 41).

Sources:

Benton, Michael. The Dinosaur Encyclopedia. Wanderer Books, New York: 1984. 30-31, 39,46, 52, 78, 95, 98, 102, 118, 133, 148, 157.
Bakker, Robert T. The Dinosaur Heresies. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York: 41, 168-169, 219, 224.
Valley of the T. Rex. Prod. Reuben Aaronson. DVD. Discovery Channel, 2001.