Webosaurs Blog

RAWR!

Q: Who is the first ceratopsian that first appear? Irvine

A: Good question Irvine! As you know, ceratopsians only lived during the Cretaceous perod. Still, their history is a little fuzzy because of an incomplete fossil record. Ceratopsians are very well known for being the most “all-american” dinosaur. That is, the vast majority of their fossils come from North America, and a few in Asia.

As far as paleontologists can tell, the earliest known ceratopsian dinosaur is Psittacosaurus. Unlike other ceratopsians, these guys were bi-pedal (walked on two feet) dinosaurs and were about the size of a gazelle. Psittacosaurus is a genus of dinosaur, and known for having the most species of dinosaurs than any other genus even though it is not as famous as the Triceratops. They first showed up on the earth during the Early Cretaceous around 130-100 million years ago.

Their sharp beak is perhaps the most significant characteristic it shares with other ceratopsians. The rest of it doesn’t look too similar to a Triceratops though!

-Rex

Skull from the largest triceratops ever found - Royal Tyrrell Museum

Q: What was the biggest ceratopsian? -Doulas1

A: Ah, the ceratopsians. Big frills, big horns and big attitudes. The ceratopsians were like the armored cows of the Mesozoic, except they were way waaaaay cooler than cows. The most famous of the ceratopsians also happens to be the biggest, generally speaking. Reaching lengths of 30 ft (9m), Triceratops is regarded as the largest ceratopsian of them all.

Back in 2001, paleontologists found the remnants of the skull of an old relative of Triceratops (called Eotriceratops) in Canada. It took them five whole years to piece it back together. You can see in the picture above how massive this head was, measuring about 10 ft (3m) long. That is almost twice the size of an average human being! Paleontologists say the entire dinosaur was probably around 40 ft (10m). Do you know how big that is??? Let me show you.

About this big

Wow! That is one dinosaur you don’t want to be standing in front of. Whoever said the T-Rex had it easy?

-Rex

Frill or Party Hat? It's all in how you look at it!

Iron_Head wants to know, “Did dinos besides cerapods have horns?”

As far as I’ve been able to tell from my research, all horned dinos fall into the cerapoda suborder. Of those, my favorites are the ceratopsians. Their horns and frills look so cool, and there is such a variety – almost like fancy hats on their heads!

The heavy frill of ceratopsians like Triceratops may have been for protection, but other ceratopsians had smaller frills, and even large openings in their frills, which wouldn’t have been much use against a predator. Some scientists think the frills may have worked as heat radiators, signaling devices, or to attract mates.

See, what did I tell you? Hats do the same thing (well, maybe not the heat radiating so much – lol!)

~ModCeno

Exhibit A: Why is Horns such a tough dude? It's in his blood.

Q: Which dinosaur had the longest horn? Eachares

A: The dinosaur with the longest horn should come as no surprise. This honor belongs to the world famous Triceratops who sported horns that grew up to 3ft(90cm) long above the eyes. Paleontologists are still unclear what the primary point of these horns were. While Triceratops certainly could have used them for defense, other ceratopsians sport horns that were so elaborate and twisted around that they wouldn’t work for fighting.

Some have suggested that the Triceratops horns could have been used for friendly pushing matches. They would lock horns with each other and push back and forth as a competition. It is also suggested that they could have used their horns for mating purposes. The dino with the biggest horns would have been the most attractive mate. What do you think?

-Rex

photo courtesy of creative commons

What up, Webosaurs! Everyone keeps asking me how I got so awesome, and I tell them I drink Swamp Juice. But I also have something that makes me way more awesome than everyone else (other than my sweet pectorals).

The skull of the triceratops is about one third the length of its body, and is one of the largest skulls of any documented land animal. So, yah – I have the biggest skull. I know you’re jealous. That’s cool too.

Although Triceratops have 3 horns on their heads, only the two horns on our foreheads are thought to be strong and long enough to withstand blows. If that darn swamp monster comes after me, I would lower my head and charge to show him what’s up. That’s right. I rule.

werd,
Horns.