Triceratops

"She was my favorite when I was a kid. Now I see her, she's the most beautiful thing I ever saw."

- Alan Grant

Triceratops was a very common dinosaur which lived at the very end of the Cretaceous period. It had a huge frilled head with horns over each eye that could reach over 4 feet long. Triceratops had a third, smaller horn on its nose. These would be fearsome weapons against a predator.

Triceratops is one of the most common dinosaur fossils found. More than 50 skulls have been found. Within the genus, at least 7 species have been identified. The ceratopsian family is one of the most successful and varied of the Late Cretaceous. Triceratops is the largest member of this family, reaching the size of a school bus.

Triceratops was a herd animal; it is believed that large groups roamed North America. Their large, horny beaks and long rows of teeth were well designed for chewing the tough, low-growing plants of the Late Cretaceous. It was likely the main predator of these animals was Tyrannosaurus rex. A number of skeletons show bite and chew marks that match the teeth of T. rex. Horns and frills seemed to vary among individuals within the species. Some frills were very broad, others narrow. The nasal horn shows the most variance among individual specimens, no two being the same. The material that covered its horns in life would have added significantly to the length of the fossilized bone.

In 2009 researchers under supervision of Jack Horner argued that Triceratops was actually a juvenile version of Torosaurus. The massive frill of Triceratops would grow longer and thinner in time, until it may have had the same holes as seen in Torosaurus (see ). However, this evidence has yet to be fully accepted by the scientific community.

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Creation
Triceratops was created by InGen in their compound on Isla Sorna where they were taken care of by the workers there. As the clones matured they would develop larger, more elongated frills as well as holes in these said frills. Dr. Laura Sorkin discovered this metamorphosis and wrote her finds in her journal, providing that Triceratops was the same as the related Torosaurus.

Triceratops were highly sociable, even adopting juveniles that were not from their herd. However, they were also aggressive as well, so they had to be treated with care. They had two skin variations, one being brown and the other being beige with stripes down the back.

At the age of about a few months, the Triceratops would be transported to Isla Nublar to live as an attraction for InGen's Jurassic Park. They lived in their own paddock with an individual named "Lady Margaret" being the alpha-female of the herd. In 1993, Lady Margaret had an adoptive daughter (really her sister/clone) named "Bakhita" who earned her name because she liked to eat banana leaves.

Isla Nublar Incident (1993)
Just before the endorsement team's tour of Jurassic Park, a Triceratops fell ill from eating, confusing their berries for. During the endorsement team's tour, Dr. Gerry Harding allowed his daughter Jessica Harding to observe the park's Triceratops herd inside their paddock. She managed to see Bakhita and Lady Margaret fighting another of her species for dominance over the herd before Gerry told Jess to return to the Visitor Center so he could investigate the poisoned Triceratops. Gerry had game warden Robert Muldoon tranquilize the ill individual so it wouldn't be aggressive around him.

While he investigated the cause of its illness, the endorsement team went inside the paddock after Dr. Alan Grant heard the dinosaur's moans. Dr. Grant hugged the Trike upon seeing it. While observing the dinosaur, Dr. Ellie Sattler discovered that the Triceratops was sick and decided to stay behind with Dr. Harding to find the cause of its illness.

Wheen Dennis Nedry disabled most of Jurassic Park's security, Triceratops was one of the many dinosaurs that were able to roam freely. One such Triceratops was Bakhita, who wandered out of her paddock to eat some banana leaves. While trying to evacuate the island with his daughter and Nima Cruz, Dr. Gerry Harding encountered Bakhita who was blocking the road. After multiple attempts to get her off the road, Jess Harding managed to get Bakhita off the road and back by honking the horn of their jeep with her father escorting the juvenile back into her paddock, but this also alerted Lady Margaret who felt the humans were threatening her child.

Enraged, Lady Margaret attacks the Harding's jeep with Jess and Nima inside. She continues to attack the jeep after she flips it over though she stops once Jessica disables the car horn that was aggravating the Trike. However, Lady Margaret is soon attacked by Rexy, Jurassic Park's Tyrannosaurus rex. The two proceed to have a duel. During the fight, the Hardings and Nima run to the Triceratops Maintenance Building with both combatants. It is unknown who won the fight, but the Triceratops most likely lost as she lost a horn in the conflict and Rexy is seen alive afterward unscathed.

It is unknown what happened to the Triceratops populations on Isla Nublar after the Isla Nublar Incident of 1993.

Wild on Isla Sorna
When Hurricane Clarissa hit Isla Sorna, the InGen workers on the island evacuated the island. The Trikes were either freed by the workers or escaped their own cages on their own. In the wild, they ate Lysine rich plants to counter the Lysine contingency. They occupied most of the island.

Isla Sorna Incident (1997)
During the Isla Sorna Incident of 1997 the InGen Hunters captured an adult and juvenile Triceratops. These individuals were later freed by Gatherers Nick Van Owen and Dr. Sarah Harding. When the adult was freed it rammed through the projector screen Peter Ludlow was using when giving a speech to his co-workers. The Triceratops also flung a car right at the treestand that Roland Tembo and Ajay Sidhu were in, but they jumped out of it in time before they were killed. It is unknown what happened to Triceratops after their escape.

Isla Sorna Incident (2001)
While aboard N622DC, Dr. Alan Grant saw a herd of Triceratops and pointed it out to his group.

Jurassic World
InGen created new clones of Triceratops for Masrani Global Corporation's Jurassic World on Isla Nublar. These clones were identical to the brown skinned clones that were created before though it is unknown if they were able to mature into Torosaurus like the first clones. They were slightly more social than the previous recreation, liking to be scratched under their frills and having their photo taken. However, like the old clones they still had trouble decerning what was edible for them, at least when they were juveniles. The adults lived in the Gyrosphere and the self-titled Triceratops Territory, but the juveniles, or at least some of the juveniles, lived in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo where they could be petted and even ridden by human children.

Isla Nublar Incident (2015)
When the freed residents of the Jurassic World Aviary attacked the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo a juvenile Triceratops was grabbed by a Pteranodon.

Trivia

 * In Jurassic Park III several Triceratops can be seen with zebra-like stripes on them much like the Tyrannosaurus and Male Parasaurolophus seen. However this is the same texture that was used for the bull in The Lost World Jurassic Park as you can see the Bull Triceratops had white stripes and dark brown coloration. It was used again in Jurassic Park III, but an unused texture can be seen in the making of and the turntables though.
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Jurassic Park (novel)
Triceratops was the size of an elephant, with the truculent stance of a rhino. The horns above each eye curved four feet into the air, looking almost like inverted elephant tusks. A third, smaller, rhino-like horn was located near the nose, above the animal's beak-like snout.

Unlike other dinosaurs, Triceratops couldn't see very well. They were nearsighted, much like the rhinos of today, and tended to be surprised by sudden movements. They'd charge the tour jeeps if they were close enough to see it but the tracks were located a safe distance away.

Triceratops have a fan-shaped crest behind their heads, made of solid bone, and is very strong. Despite their appearance, they are actually quite docile. They form relationships with their handlers, much like Indian elephants, and will allow themselves to be petted. They particularly like to be scratched in the hindquarters.

A herd of 8 Triceratops live on Isla Nublar''. They reside in an area called Triceratops Territory along with Styracosaurus and Euplocephalus''. It is revealed in the novel that the Triceratops have to be separated into groups of less than six. If not, they appear to lock horns and sometimes kill each other in death duels for dominance. Because no frog DNA was used to clone the Triceratops, no reproduction is observed among them. However, the Triceratops are observed staging duels for dominance, something that males of a species do to assert their dominance or gain dominance of a group. This seeming contradiction is never explained. Lex Murphy names an infant Triceratops Ralph. By the end of the novel, there are only 6 left, all of which are later killed in the Napalm Bombing.

The Lost World
A herd of Triceratops live on Isla Sorna. It consists of many adults and one juvenile. They seem to stay close to the river. The herd is the second dinosaur species that Malcolm, Thorne, and Eddie encounter when they begin their expedition on the island. The Triceratops are later seen fighting off a pack of raptors. The trikes appear to be pale brown and take good care of their young. Despite their huge size, they make high-pitched barking sounds like dogs.


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Warpath: Jurassic Park
Triceratops is a playable character in Warpath: Jurassic Park who shares the same fighting style with Styracosaurus and has 3 colors: red, green, and purple.

Jurassic Park: Trespasser
Triceratops appears in Jurassic Park: Trespasser. It first appears in Jungle Road. It is also encountered in the The Lab. Triceratops can hurt the player with its horns if one walks too close. A cut stampede scene from the game was originally stated to be featured.

Jurassic Park III: Park Builder
Triceratops is nr. 101 of the Herbivore Threes. Triceratops Lhorn is nr. 102 of the Herbivore Threes.

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
see Triceratops/Operation Genesis

Triceratops is a five-star dinosaur in the popular video game, Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis. It can be found in the Hell Creek Site B fossil formation. Triceratops is the only herbivore that needs security higher than "low", as it requires "medium" security fences. It will charge Land Cruisers and kill large carnivores and can be paired with Torosaurus or Styracosaurus in an enclosure. It is the game's most robust herbivore. Also it can go into "Death Duels" with Tyrannosaurus. Sometimes, the Tyrannosaurus wins, but other times the Trike wins. There are two ways T. rex can be killed by Triceratops. One way is to stab the Tyrannosaurus repeatedly until the beast falls over and dies, which is common when herds of this animal stab the Tyrannosaurus rex together. Another way that T. rex can be killed by a Trike is by impaling, in which a Tyrannosaurus stomps on the head shield of the Triceratops-but the Trike impales the rex through the chest before the T. rex can bite the area behind the neck.

LEGO Jurassic World
Triceratops is an dinosaur from LEGO Jurassic World and like any other dinosaur, Triceratops sometimes participates in humorous antics, due to the game's comical nature. The amber piece is found on "Welcome to Jurassic Park," Part 2 and you get it by looking for a breakable wall (with gold light coming out of it) in back of the very last part of the Triceratops pen. Use the Triceratops to ram it.

Cameo

 * In the console game as an enemy in the raptor and T. rex levels.
 * In the arcade game the player must rescue one from being eaten by two raptors. If the player(s) succeed they will go to the next chapter. If they failed, the players must fend off more raptors. Players can also see a Triceratops collapsing to its death (by raptors, judging by its wounds) when a hunter tells the player(s): "they wiped us out!".
 * In the SEGA Genesis game it will only attack if it was hurt, or if there were carnivores nearby.


 * Triceratops is the available dinosaur on the IOS application, Jurassic Park: Builder. It is the first dinosaur you can create.
 * Triceratops is the available dinosaur on the IOS application, Jurassic World: The Game. It is the first dinosaur you can create.

Behind the scenes
Despite being a popular dinosaur and appearing in all four films, Triceratops is seen only for a short time in the sequels. It only appeared for a minute in the 2nd film and a few seconds in the 3rd film. However Jurassic World breaks this trend.

The number of Triceratops in each film seem to be greater than the ones from previous films. In the first film, there is 1 Triceratops. In the second film, there are 2. And in the third and forth, there are herds.

Triceratops is one of the few dinosaurs to appear in all the first four films. The others are Parasaurolophus, Tyrannosaurus rex, and, of course, Velociraptor.

The Triceratops animatronic from Jurassic Park was originally painted black with faint green spots, but Stan Winston told his team to pour and rub dirt on the animatronic citing large herbivores like elephants and rhinoceroses tend to be covered with dirt of their environment. Ever since the first film (excluding Jurassic Park III) Triceratops has been depicted in the films with brown skin.

Vocalization
Though being the most popular of the dinosaurs the Triceratops had very little screen time in the first Jurassic Park trilogy. From these short cameos, the Triceratops has made low grumbling moans and when aggressive it makes loud snorts, growls, and large screeching calls.

For the sounds for the appearance of Triceratops in Jurassic Park, Gary Rydstrom needed to use an animal that would sound large, but has a low groan for the scene with the sick Triceratops to show a sign of majesty. To to this Rydstrom decided to use the bellows of a lion and slow them down to pitch where they were sounded as something big, but weak. In The Lost World, the Triceratops was more active in it's scenes and for the destruction of Roland Tembo's camp would need to sound aggressive. Before the destruction of the camp, two Triceratops (one juvenile and adult) were captured for both animals, Rydstrom used the groaning bleat of a goat for the baby Triceratops and for the growls and snorts used a whale, elephant and leopard for the adult and when the adult causes havoc in the camp the high raspy scream was used by using a cows moos through a tube to a cardboard box (these screams were also recycled for the Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus). In Jurassic Park: The Game, aggressive bull stock sounds were used instead of the cow moos used in The Lost World.