Triceratops and some other Ceratopsian Dinosaurs

Triceratops feeding on Ferns near a Volcano

Triceratops was the largest of the Ceratopsians.  Ceratopsian dinosaurs were herbivores and most had horns and all had a frill that appeared to be there to protect their neck.  They were a diverse group of armored dinosaurs.  Some had spikes on their frill and some had no horns at all.  Some had one horn.  Some had two horns.  Some had three horns.  All had a curved beak for browsing.  That means they probably mostly ate leaves from bushes, but possibly bark as well.  They probably ate leaves from ferns as well.  The new drawing above is of a Triceratops eating ferns.  There is some fairly new evidence that the grass family of plants had evolved earlier than once thought.  This means that Triceratops, a Late Cretaceous animal, probably grazed some on grass as well.  The earlier Ceratopsians probably also fed on the same types of plants as Triceratops. 

All the below drawings are from previous posts.   The printable versions are found by clicking the buttons at the top of the page.  Specifically the "All Printables" button and the "Paleontology" button. The older drawings are at the top of the list and the new drawings are at the bottom of the list. 

Styracosaurus feeding on Ferns

Styracosaurus

Monoclonius rubbing Cycad trunk

Mother Triceratops with Spots

Triceratops from D Train

This is a salute to the excellent PBS Kid show called Dinosaur Train.  

Triceratops Grazing

I DID mention that they probably grazed on grass sometimes too. 

The below two dinosaurs were some of the earliest Ceratopsians...

. . . from before the time they had evolved horns for defense.   

They were MUCH smaller than Triceratops.  

They were the size of a sheep.  

Montanoceratops.png

Protoceratops