Triceratops (T. horridus 'Three-horned face') is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the Maastrichtian Age of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 68–66 million years ago.
Triceratops is characterized by having 3 horns on its skull, a parrot beak and a large bone frill on its neck; the horns could have been used to defend against attacks by Tyrannosaurus and other predators of the time.
Triceratops was a browsing herbivore and may have played a role as a pollinator of angiosperm plants, disintegrating their seeds.
Triceratops could have reached 30 feet in length and weighed about 10,000 pounds.
Today only two species of Triceratops (T. horridus and T. prorsus) are contemplated.
The natural habitat of Triceratops was in North America, in what is now the western United States and Canada. It inhabited the prairies and plains stretching from present-day Alberta, Canada to New Mexico, USA.
The climate of the time in which the Triceratops inhabited was hot and humid, similar to the climates we find today in the tropics. The environment in which it lived was full of forests and large grazing areas for herbivores such as Triceratops.
The specimen modeled is called, due to its fossil record, Big John and it is big, very big. Among all the triceratops that have been found in the world, he takes the records: he has 3 horns on his head and is 8 meters long.
With 66 million years, it is the complete skeleton of the most massive specimen of the species.
It was auctioned in Paris in October 2021 for 6.6 million euros.
Iacopo Briano, a paleontologist who was in charge of Big John for years, assures that the specimen is between 5-10% larger than other triceratops found in the past.
Originally, Big John was found on a ranch in Montana, in the United States. His remains were exhumed one by one. After several days of digging, paleontologists were amazed to find the skeleton complete and in perfect condition.
Approximate measurements of the Triceratops:
- Scale 1:72 - 114 mm long (Complete)
- Scale 1:35 - 230 mm long ( 2 pieces)
- Complete base in both options
