Triceratops Jurica Nature Museum Common Name: Triceratops Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia (Archosauria) Order: Ornithischia Family: Ceratopsidae Genus: Triceratops Species: horridus Museum Location: Near the Student Guide Desk Description: Triceratops was a rhinoceros-like dinosaur. It walked on four sturdy legs and had three horns on its face along with a large bony plate projecting from the back of its skull (a frill). One short horn above its parrot-like beak and two longer horns (over 3 feet) above its eyes probably provided protection from predators. The horns were possibly used in mating rivalry and rituals. It had a large skull, up to 10 feet long, one of the largest skulls of any land animal ever discovered. Its head was nearly one-third as long as its body. Triceratops was about 30 feet long, 10 feet tall, and weighed up to 6-12 tons. Habitat and Range: Triceratops fossils were found in western Canada and the western United States. Diet: Triceratops was a herbivore -- a plant eater. It probably tore apart cycads and other low-lying plants with its tough beak and could chew the tough fibrous vegetation with its long cheek teeth. Behavior: Triceratops was probably a herd animal. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area. When threatened by predators, Triceratops probably charged into its enemy like the modern-day rhinoceros. This was probably a very effective defense. Communication: A recent study of the smallest Triceratops skull, ascertained to be a juvenile, shows the frills and horns developed at a very early age, predating sexual development and thus possibly important for visual communication and species recognition. Reproduction: Triceratops probably hatched from eggs and raised their young in the herd. Species Status: Triceratops lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles. It was among the last of the dinosaur species to evolve before the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction 65 million years ago. Interesting Facts: Triceratops remains were first discovered near Denver, Colorado, in 1887. At first they were identified as the remains of a recently extinct species of buffalo. The Jurica Museum’s fiberglass cast of the Triceratops skull was made from a fossil found in South Dakota by a local Illinois resident. By: Ashley Jacob & T.S.