Triceratops New Theories

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A fairly recent theory comes from John Horner.  He was the consultant on the Jurassic Park movies.  He took a look at different Triceratops and Pachycephalosaur skeletons.  He came to a unique conclusion that may apply to other dinosaur species as well.  What he discovered is that the young and growing dinosaurs did NOT look like mini-adults.  They had a unique look that did not look like their parents.   They still looked smilar, but the young do not near appear just like as their parents....in smaller form.  You can watch Jack Horner's relatively new video called Decoding Dinosaurs to learn about his new theories.

Dr. Horner says that a young Triceratops had (relatively speaking) larger bones around their frill.   The adults of reproductive age have absorbed these guard bones into their frill so that you can barely see that they are there.   The frill itself bends over the neck of a young Triceratops.  The adults, of course, have much larger horns as well.  So, as much as I like my below color drawing from a few years ago, it is probably wrong.   The calf looks too much like his or her daddy.

Triceratops Bull and Calf

Copyright 2008 Robin Andrew Lyman

The below drawings are much less detailed but probably more scientifically correct.

Mother Triceratops (cow) and 2 Calves 
(Notice the calves' frills go back over their neck and upper back.)

Triceratops Teen
 (Notice the horns do not face forward.)

Full Sized Triceratops Adult (bull)
(Notice the horns face forward.)



All Coloring Page Drawings are Copyright 2017 by Robin Andrew Lyman
Some previous posts are Copyright 2016 or earlier by Robin Andrew Lyman