LATE
CRETACEOUS
HELL CREEK FORMATION
Ceratopsians
updated 112014
The Hell Creek coastal lowlands ceratopsians preferred habitats farther away from rivers. The herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs thrived in what are now North America, Asia, during the Cretaceous Period.
mouse over diorama pics for figure information.
Triceratops ( Three Horned Face) fossils are very common
leading us to believe Triceratops were very common. Unlike their earlier
relatives we find no bone beds indicating large herds. Perhaps they had
small family structures like deer or rhinos.
Ceratopsids were adapted to processing high-fiber plant material with their highly derived dental batteries. They may have utilized fermentation to break down plant material with a gut microflora.
Ceratopsids were generally restricted to feeding on vegetation at, or below three feet.
Triceratops was the longest ceratopsid, and one of the last. It had a skull 6 feet long and horns 3 feet long, (1 above each eye, 1 on its nose). The neck frill was a saddle shaped, solid piece of bone. Its scissor-like teeth were in rows so that as one wore out it was replaced by the next row.
It was a plant eater. Males may have fought for domination, while the frill probably served a number of functions including display and heat regulation.
Triceratops had front legs shorter than the back legs and whereas the back legs were positioned vertically beneath the body, the front limbs are generally portrayed as projected out to the sides in a 'push-up' position that meant that the head was carried low in an ideal defensive position.
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