Triceratops: Armoured Beyond Our Previous Interpretation

So, for my first post, I am going to talk a bit about one of the most famous dinosaurs out there; Triceratops. Over the hundred or so years it has been around, many interpretations have been made of it's life appearance. However, in the last few years, some incredible fossils have shown that they were far different than what I imagined them to be. Notably, they are like a semi-ankylosaur version of ceratopsians. This post, I am going to examine the armoured sides (er... Body and face) of Triceratops, and what implications this might have in its lifestyle.

Scales, Scales, Scales

Triceratops skin impression.

Not much is known about the outer integument of ceratopsians, with a few fossils of skin impressions from Centrosaurus, and that of a Triceratops specimen, which is the best preserved skin impression we have of these animals. What is apparent is that there are these small, nipple like raised structures. What the purpise is for that is unknown, possibly housing some quill like filaments, although now that theory is not entirely accepted, due to filamentous integument tending to grow on skin, not around it. Another interesting aspect of the skin impression are the large scales. These scales are very large, possibly even a little bit thick. So what we appear to have here is armoured skin. Now you might be asking "gee, I wonder what implications this has", but need worry not, I have a very, very simple and predictable explanation for this.

Puts a New Meaning to Horny Face

This is gonna be very speculative. I have almost zero references, except for what Denver Fowler said on the 24-hour Saurian livestream (plez support it!). The sculptor Jake Baarde was doing a subadult Triceratops, when Denver came into the chat and told Jake to change the face of the Triceratops into a keratin covering... Okay, let me back up. According to Denver, there are grooves indicating the presence of blood vessels along the face, except for the antorbital fenestra, and some parts of the lower jaw. These grooves are seen on the horns as well, on the frill, and even down on the jugals. What does this mean? Well, Denver said that this might indicate that the face was covered in a rough shield, the horn blending into the face. What exactly made up the shield is up for debate. Denver said either cornified skin or keratin, but RJ (the Saurian concept artist) expressed skepticism for keratin.

What Does This Mean?

The implications of armoured skin and an armoured face for Triceratops could mean that it was more protected against predators. I've always thought that due to the the lack of fenestra in the frill, that the frill was more adapted for protecting the neck against the resident predator, Tyrannosaurus. However, I know am thinking that the armoured face had multiple uses. The cornified skin or keratin covered face could prove useful in protecting the animal when locking horns in fights over territory or mates. This could also just in general protect it from predators. The armoured skin would also protect it from  predators as well. My guess is that Triceratops evolved such an armoured body to protect it from the bone crushing jaws of Tyrannosaurus. Not that it was entirely affective... Many fossils of Triceratops have bite marks from Tyrannosaurus, both from feeding and live action biting. In the end, Triceratops was the other tank of western North America, though not entirely like Ankylosaurus. I wonder what would've happened if Chixulub didn't happen... Would it have turned into an ankylosaur-ceratopsian hybrid thingy majiger? I don't know... I think I'm about to go off topic, so I'll just end there. 

http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2015/12/dinosaur-scales-some-thoughts-for.html