Triceratops lived about 70 to 67 million years ago. It is one of the most easily recognized dinosaurs due to its heavy defensive armaments consisting of three large horns and a huge flaring neck frill. Triceratops reached a length of 30 feet, stood eight feet high at the shoulder, and weighed about seven tons. The skull alone measures some six feet by four feet by four feet.
"On our left in the exhibit is the skull of the Triceratops. Now, this skull, as are most of the others here, are fiberglass replicas which we purchased from the American Museum of Natural History in New York but they are exact replicas. Triceratops is one of the later Cretaceous dinosaurs, quite well known...
Triceratops means 'three-horned face', and you can see the three large horns for protection as well as the neck frill. In addition, you'll notice that Triceratops was a herbivore, a plant eater, you can tell by the beak for clipping branches and also the very flat grinding teeth."
What does a full size Triceratops look like? Select this image icon and see a full sculpture of one on the mall in Washington, D.C.
Tyrannosaurus rex lived from about 90 to 67 million years ago. This carnivorous predator stood over 20 feet tall, 30 feet long, and weighed about 5 tons. With a skull almost five feet in length, and a mouth filled with 6-inch teeth, T. rex could have swallowed an average-sized person.
"Next to Triceratops is our large, full-sized Tyrannosarus rex head, which we purchased from the Dynamation company which makes robotic dinosaurs. This gives one an idea of the size of the T. rex, which stood 20 feet tall and 50 feet long. There we can see the sharp carnivore teeth, the eyes which are set in the front of the head, for
binocular vision, stereoscopic vision for hunting, and also the very well-developed sense of smell. The skin, and the color, of course, are an artistic and scientific guess."
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