Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 21, 2007

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Triceratops was a herbivorous genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian around 68-65 million years ago in what is now North America; it was one of the last dinosaurs to appear before the great K-T extinction event. Bearing a large bony frill and three horns on its large four-legged body, and conjuring similarities with the modern rhinoceros, Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs. Though it shared the landscape with, and was preyed upon by, the fearsome Tyrannosaurus, it is unclear whether the two battled the way they are commonly depicted in movies and children's dinosaur books. Although no complete skeleton has been found, Triceratops is well known from numerous partial specimens collected since the genus' introduction in 1887. The function of their frills and three distinctive facial horns has long inspired debate. Although traditionally viewed as defensive weapons against predators, the latest theories suggest these features were primarily used in display for courtship and dominance, much like the antlers and horns of modern reindeer, mountain goats or rhinoceros beetles. (more...)

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