Stratum.black
Triceratops — Triceratops
Triceratops — DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Dinosaur

Triceratops

Three-horned face

Triceratops is the three-horned ceratopsian of the latest Cretaceous Hell Creek and Lance formations and the most common large dinosaur in those beds. Collectors hold shed teeth (double-rooted, with a worn vertical shearing face), frill and horn fragments, vertebrae and the occasional brow horn; complete skulls sell for six and seven figures. Two species are recognised, T. horridus lower in the section and T. prorsus higher.

PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderOrnithischia
FamilyCeratopsidae
GroupDinosaur
Size8–9 m long; skull to 2.5 m
Rank (PBDB)genus· Paleobiology Database
AuthorMarsh 1889· Paleobiology Database
Classification (PBDB)Chordata › Ornithischia › NO_ORDER_SPECIFIED › Ceratopsidae· Paleobiology Database
Range (PBDB)83.6–66 Ma· Paleobiology Database
PBDB occurrences166· Paleobiology Database

Restoration and fakes

Horn cores and frills are almost always crack-filled and consolidated; ask for a restoration percentage and photographs before prep. 'Triceratops teeth' with intact roots are scarce because the roots are resorbed; most are worn spitters.

Photographs

Triceratops — Triceratops horridus Marsh, 1889
Triceratops horridus Marsh, 1889 — Smithsonian Institution (NMNHPALEO), Smithsonian Open Access, CC0
Triceratops — Triceratops horridus Marsh 1889 (NHMUK PV R 10957)
Triceratops horridus Marsh 1889 (NHMUK PV R 10957) — © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (London) Data Portal, CC BY 4.0
Triceratops — Triceratops horridus Marsh 1889 (NHMUK PV R 3886)
Triceratops horridus Marsh 1889 (NHMUK PV R 3886) — © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (London) Data Portal, CC BY 4.0

Age

Formations

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Study. "Triceratops" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/triceratops. Accessed 2026-09-20.

BibTeX · CSL-JSON

@misc{stratum-triceratops,
  title        = {Triceratops},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/triceratops}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, smithsonian, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
}

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