Tyrannosaurus rex & Triceratops prorsus

Triceratopses defending their youngsters against Tyrannosaurus rex. Original oil painting by Josef Moravec.
Oil painting 48" x 36" (122 x 92 cm). (Framed).

* Available for sale to museums and serious art collectors.
* Contact us: Dinosaur Corporation

TRICERATOPS prorsus was the most numerous of the horned cretaceous dinosaurs as well as the largest ceratopsian; it was one of the last to become extinct. Its name means "three horned face". Triceratops was a herbivore and its largest predator was Tyrannosaurus rex. It probably ate cycads and all other low-lying plants; it could chew them well with its cheek teeth. These animals probably lived in vast herds and hatched from eggs. They made up the bulk of the herbivore population just before the end of the Cretaceous period. Triceratops had a skull that reached up 6 ft (2m) in length with three protective horns and a great frill of bone that served for muscle attachment to the neck as well as protection from predators. Triceratops had one short horn above its beak and two long, double-recurved brow horns (up to 3 ft/90 cm long). The horns provided it with a very dangerous weapon and may have also been used in mating rivalry and rituals. Its head with large eyes was almost one-third as long as its body (up to 10 ft/3 m long) and was the largest ever possessed by a land animal. Its tough beak was toothless, but Triceratops had many cheek teeth and powerful jaws. It walked on all four, short and sturdy legs with hoof-like claws. Its body was bulky and it had a short tail. It also had a thick bumpy hide, prints of which have survived, to protect it against predator attacks, many of which could have come from the fearsome T-rex. Triceratops skulls are very common occurrences in the fossil record, in coastal lowland sediments, but skeletons are rare. Many specimens have bones damaged in combats with predators. Triceratops remains were first discovered in 1887 (Colorado, USA).. Triceratopses were continually harassed by the attacks of the vicious Tyrannosaurus rex. Protecting the young was always a problem, and the T-rex ate any of the animals that it could get. By sticking together and keeping their horns in front of them, Triceratopses could be a formidable opponent.

TIME - 70 - 65MYA, Late Cretaceous period.
RANGE - USA Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado. CANADA - Alberta.
SIZE - Up to 30Ft (9m) long.
WEIGHT - 2 US tons.

TYRANNOSAURUS rex, probably one of the most famous cretaceous dinosaurs ever, was a member of the family Tyrannosauridae. It was a theropod, a saurischian dinosaur, that belongs to the one of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time. This "tyrant lizard" is the best known of all dinosaurs. T-rex was one of the most awesome creatures, that have walked on the earth. Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs, but it is still debated, whether it was an active hunter or a scavenger. It probably fed on decaying bodies of dead dinosaurs, like most carnivores. T-rex probably lived in forests, in a humid, semi-tropical environment. Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal, it walked on two muscular legs. Each foot had three large toes, all with claws, and it also had a dewclaw. Its arms were small, each with two fingers. Tyrannosaurus rex had very large head, a short neck and a slim tail; its skull was up to 5 feet (1,5 m) long. Its eyes were faced forward, it could focus them directly to the front. Its teeth in large jaws were sharp, jagged and 6 inch (15 cm) long. It is known, on the base of fossilized specimens, that Tyrannosaurus rex had "lightly pebbled skin", bumpy, like an alligator. Its brain was comparable in size to those of modern reptiles. The first complete T-rex skeleton was discovered in 1902, and many great examples have been unearthed over the last 15 years.

TIME - 70 -65 MYA, Late Cretaceous period.
RANGE - USA: Colorado, Montana, N Dakota, New Mexico, Wyoming.CANADA - Alberta, Saskatchewan.
SIZE - 15 ft(5m) tall and 36 ft (12m) long.
WEIGHT - 6.5 US tons.

***

See more Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Ice Age Animals Oil Paintings in Dinosaur Exhibits

Contact us by e-mail to obtain permission for commercial usage of this image: Dinosaur Corporation

Copyright Dinosaur Corporation, USA. All rights reserved TM