Triceratops Horridus (Digital Painting)

Triceratops is known to have orbital horns that face forward. Triceratops' horns curved backwards when they were young, and forward as they grew. And in a young triceratops horn, there is different amounts of bone around the center. If a bone is shifting from one shape to another, there will be deposition of bone on one side of it, and erosion of bone on the other side of it. At each stage of life, triceratops developed unique looks of its own. For years, scientists believed that triceratops used their dangerous looking horns to battle predators like T. Rex. Young animals needed protection the most. But horns that curve backward are useless for defense. Some paleontologist also believe that like bull elk, males jousted with their horns to impress females or establish dominance. Apparently, males and females both had horns. What did the females use their horns for? Just from a practical point of view, if triceratops was to defend itself against a T. Rex, the triceratops pokes a hole in the T. Rex. Where does the T. Rex body fall? Obviously, it falls on the triceratops' head. The last place in the world you want a defense organ is on your head.
If the horns were not for defense, what were they for? Some birds may have evolved distinctive features to distinguish themselves from related species. Species recognition is obviously really important; since you have to mate with your own species, it's important to that you be able to recognize your own species. Some species may distinguish themselves not just with colors, but with display ornaments on their skulls, like a hornbill. The hornbills have the casque on their head, which is certainly a feature very similar to what we see in dinosaurs. Most of dinosaurs' visual display was done in bone. One reason dinosaurs may have developed strangely shaped skulls and horns was just to recognize their own kind.
But why did the youngsters look so different from adults? Young birds also have distinctive looks. A younger hornbill has a baby look, with no casque at all until it's 3/4 adult size. Then the casque quickly begins to grow. It's a signaling device. It's a way so the adults can recognize the juveniles and the babies. And the babies can recognize the juveniles and the adults. Young and old triceratops may have had dramatically different looks for the same reason. The baby has the big eyes, short snout, very much like what we see in chicks. These are features that, when we see them in other animals like birds, puppies, and kittens, they give it sort of this cute look. The triceratops baby's looks made its parents want to take care of it. While backwards pointing horns identified the adolescents. It's important to show other members of your group that you're not an adult, that you're a juvenile. So if you engage in some behavior that makes someone angry at you, you're not going to get eaten, because your horns are small and they curve backward and you're not threatening. Because juveniles had unique looks, parents must have cared for their young through adolescence. And the forward pointing horns of an adult sent a different message.
Dinosaurs may have fought less than we believed. They were caring parents. They lived in groups of adults, babies, and teenagers, and they were very social. Birds preserved another trait that dinosaurs invented. Long before birds evolved, dinosaurs used bright colors to identify species, age groups, and to attract mates. Even a dinosaurs scaly skin may have been brightly colored, like the skin on a cassowary. And triceratops may have been one of the most colorful of all. The evidence is in their shields. One of the characteristics about triceratops' shield is that it has these indented vessels. They're blood vessel channels that have literally been indented into the bone as the bone grew. Keratin is the substance that makes claws, the hard covering on horns, and beaks. The entire head, except its cheeks and around the area of the nose, was completely covered with keratin. Young birds have dull colors. Adult males are very bright. The females, less so. And dinosaurs? Surprisingly, scientists can't tell from a fossil whether a dinosaur is male or female. So it's likely they also distinguish themselves by color. Males had bright colors, and females, duller colors for camouflage. The males might have even become more colorful in the mating season.
Like birds, many dinosaurs' strangest looking features were solely for visual communication. As intimidating as they appear, they weren't for defense. Very few animals have to defend themselves every year, but male animals do have to court every year. If you're going to have more triceratops, it's darned handy to have some fine display features. Like a peacock, triceratops used their horns for strutting, not butting. The adults strangest looking features were mate magnets. At each stage of life, horned dinosaurs may have looked different.

•Date: September 2nd, 2020 6:51 P.M.
•Size: 211.84 KB
•Resolution: 1620 x 1215
•Digital Width: 3200 px
•Digital Height: 2400 px
•Original Design Elements: Gregory S. Paul