The Dinosaur - Triceratops

Imagine facing the frightening sight of a three-horned Triceratops in battle. It would be enough to scare off the toughest opponent and that's precisely the idea behind this famous dinosaur's scary face.

Although it looked fierce, the Triceratops was actually a harmless giant if left alone, who would happily spend all day ripping leaves off plants and munching away to its hearts content.

As a committed herbivore, Triceratops had no interest in ravishing other dinosaurs for dinner, but those huge horns (which were up to a metre long on the top of its head!) came in handy when they were under attack by meat-eating or carnivorous dinosaurs.

Triceratops were friendly sorts who liked to hang out in a gang. Herds of Triceratops may have used group defence tactics (a bit like army manoeuvres) to scare opponents. They might have formed a circle for protection and turned those horrible-looking horns outwards to face their attackers. Yikes! It's a scary thought.

A pair of triceratops also might have fought over girlfriends or who was going to lead the gang. They would have charged at each other crashing their heads together and locking horns until one gave up and skulked away in shame.

The triceratops other snazzy embellishment was its distinctive neck frill which was made of solid bone. It was smooth with triangular tips along the edge.

To get an idea of its size, the Triceratops would have stood twice as high as all you 10-year-olds! It weighed about 10 tonnes and was strong enough to fight off even the fiercest of hunters like the tyrannosaurs.