Discover the Top 11 Triceratops Fun Facts That'll Amaze You!

1. Triceratops: Horned Hipster Heroes

Despite rumors that Triceratops were the “Veggie Tales” of the dinosaur world, these humongous horned hipsters were anything but laid-back, leaf-crunching pacifists: In fact, Triceratops would charge at perceived threats, had fearsome horns and protective frills for neck defense, and were notoriously overzealous parents, creating armored walls to shield their young.
Source => jurassic-park-ecology.fandom.com

2. Big John: The Backstabbing Survivor

Next time someone says, "Don't stab me in the back!", remember poor ol' Big John: a Triceratops skeleton that survived a brutal backstabbing from a fellow horned dinosaur, left with a puncture wound on its neck frill. This prehistoric survivor's bone injury showed evidence of healing similar to mammal bone recovery, making it scarily relatable to our own skeletons and healing processes.
Source => sciencealert.com

Did you know that T. Rex's teeth were like a saw and could regrow every two years? Discover more about this fearsome creature's dental secrets!

=> Fun Facts about T-Rex

3. Triceratops Owls: Masters of Head Movement

What do you get when you cross a Triceratops with an owl that's just aced ballet class? A prehistoric plant-muncher that can turn its head with grace and ease unlike any other: Triceratops had a ball-and-socket neck joint at the base of their skull behind the bony frill, granting them unparalleled flexibility to rotate their head in any direction while foraging or warding off pesky foes.
Source => modernsciences.org

4. Prehistoric Pickup Lines: Frills & Horns

Move over, peacock - dinosaurs perfected the art of prehistoric pickup lines: Triceratops and other ceratopsian dinosaurs likely used their frills and horns as ornaments to attract mates, as studies suggest these features evolved for courtship and mating purposes, rather than predator defense or species recognition.
Source => earth.com

5. Big John: Ultimate Horn Champion

Step aside, unicorn wannabes: Triceratops has got the real game in this horn competition. Fabled warrior, Big John, not only rocks a double whammy of headgear with horns that stretch an astounding 1.1 meters long and over 30 centimeters wide at their base, but can also withstand a whopping 16 tons of pressure with those bad boys!
Source => cnn.com

6. Triceratops Face-offs: Battle Scars Revealed

Ever wonder why Triceratops have that "horny" look in their eyes? The secret lies not in their prehistoric pickup lines, but in their aggressive headgear: Triceratops used their frills and horns for defense against predators and in combat with fellow Triceratops, evidenced by fossil findings of healed puncture wounds near their eyes, ears, and frill bases from horn-to-horn battles.
Source => eartharchives.org

7. Wendiceratops: The Horn Evolutionist

Hold onto your horn: Canadian paleontologists are feeling a little "horny" with the discovery of Wendiceratops pinhornensis, a prehistoric cousin of Triceratops - and the key to the evolution of the ceratopsian family! The serious reveal: The 79-million-year-old Wendiceratops sported a tall nose horn, the earliest known existence of this feature in the ceratopsian lineage, suggesting that the prominent nose horn evolved in a common ancestor that paved the way for both Wendiceratops and Triceratops to impress with their pointy headgear.
Source => science.org

8. Triceratops: Last Dinos Standing

You know what they say: save the best for last! In the world of dinosaurs, Triceratops was the stylish, horned friend who refused to leave the party before the meteorite bouncer made its explosive entrance: This triple-horned dino was among the very last non-avian dinosaurs to roam the Earth, with a fossil found just 5 inches below the K-T boundary at Montana's Hell Creek Formation, giving researchers a solid clue that the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event was sealed by a meteorite impact.
Source => nbcnews.com

9. Triceratops: Fashionable Frill Kings

Hold on to your frills, folks – Triceratops is about to steal the show in the fashion world of ceratopsian dinosaurs! With a fabulous frill that out-sized its cousins like the downright drab Centrosaurus: The Triceratops' frill, consisting of the squamosal and parietal bones, was proportionally larger than other ceratopsians. This stylish excess led to more frequent lesions on their squamosal bones, with researchers still investigating whether this grandiose frill was the cause or just a trademark of their behavior. Strut your stuff, Triceratops!
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

10. Dueling Dinosaurs: Fossil Fashion Statements

Before Jurassic Park laid down the rules for T. rex resort etiquette (hint: don't invite triceratops to the party), the Dueling Dinosaurs were trendsetters in making fossil fashion statements: Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences purchased this 67-million-year-old, tastefully arranged tableau of prehistoric frenemies for a cool $6 million. Starting 2022, visitors can witness paleontologists uncover secrets about these elite dino duo's ultimate showdown and fabulous preservation journey to the museum.
Source => businessinsider.com

11. Triceratops: Origin of the Emoji Horns

Before emojis went prehistoric and sprouted horns, triceratops were rocking the triple threat on their faces: Triceratops, aptly named "three-horned face," was one of the last ceratopians to walk the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period, leaving their mark all over the United States and Canada.
Source => amnh.org