Science

The Triceratops Never Existed

11:00AM August 1, 2010 | Casey Chan

Scientists are saying that the Triceratops dinosaur – you know, the three horned one – was actually a juvenile form of a Torosaurus, the three-horned dinosaur you don’t know. Apparently, dinosaurs’ skulls can shape-shift.

The scientists, John Scannella and Jack Horner, believe that the Torosaurus and Triceratops are actually of the same species. According to the scientists, as a Triceratops aged, its horns and frill became more similar to that of a Torosaurus. Short becomes long, saw-edged becomes smoothed and so on. Having them be the same species would explain why there were never any young Torosaurus fossils discovered.

The duo say there is a clear transition from triceratops into torosaurus as the animals grow older. For example, the oldest specimens of triceratops show a marked thinning of the bone where torosaurus has holes, suggesting they are in the process of becoming fenestrated

Scientists sure enjoy crushing my childhood memory of The Land Before Time (they nixed Brontosaurus a while back). Hopefully they won’t delete Triceratops too. [New Scientist via BoingBoing]

Comments

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  • simwa

    August 1, 2010 at 10:31 PM

    “Torosaurus will now be abolished as a species and specimens reassigned to Triceratops,” says Horner.

    So, this article should have been titled, The Torosaurus never existed?

  • Jubbin Grewal

    August 2, 2010 at 1:11 AM

    LIES LIES LIES!

  • DK_Son

    August 2, 2010 at 7:54 AM

    Man, Triceratops was my favourite dinosaur.

    But was it really? Because it never existed.

    • tim

      August 3, 2010 at 12:33 AM

      as long as it’s next to the tree that nobody saw falling in the forest, triceratops is real.

      • david

        August 4, 2010 at 1:46 AM

        And we only have 8 planets in our solar system now. Will the madness ever stop?!?!?!?

  • Fletcher Andersen

    August 2, 2010 at 10:50 AM

    Um, this was news last September …

  • Seamus Byrne

    August 2, 2010 at 10:52 AM

    Just as long as ankylosaurus is still on the books, I’ll be OK.

    • Kye

      September 2, 2010 at 5:14 PM

      OK So apparently the Tyrannosaurus isn’t the top predator and is more of a scavenger, Brontosaurus was a brachiosaurus… and now Triceratops is the pre-mature version of the Torosaurus. Oh and Raptors are in fact really small were covered in feathers.

      Dear Scientists – please don’t investigate the Ankliosaurus or the Pteradactyl.. They are my last remaining favourite that haven’t been ripped apart… :P XD

  • rOdGe

    August 2, 2010 at 11:07 AM

    Hmmm… so that means that Littlefoot from “The Land Before Time” had an imaginary friend which apparantly everybody else could see, Cera.

    • Lumbjack Nick

      August 3, 2010 at 4:49 AM

      No, that just means that Cera needed to grow up a bit and transform into a Torosaurus…..

    • Serenade

      August 3, 2010 at 4:23 PM

      What it really means is that Cera’s daddy isn’t old enough to be a daddy. And it doesn’t really ruin anything because nobody ever called Cera a “triceratops” anyway, they were the “three-horns.” So, really there are no crushed memories, only crushed terms.

  • Brian Switek

    August 2, 2010 at 11:18 AM

    Don’t worry – Triceratops still exists. Since Triceratops was named before Torosaurus, that name has priority.

    For me information on the study, see my writeup at Dinosaur Tracking: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2010/07/22/new-study-says-torosaurustriceratops/

  • Ash Ketchum

    August 2, 2010 at 12:07 PM

    Pokemon are real! Torosaurus is the evolved form of Triceratops!

    • kayring

      August 4, 2010 at 4:21 AM

      I know right!?
      dinosours do look like pokemon :D

    • Victor

      July 8, 2011 at 7:10 AM

      That’s just ridiculous and supepersticious.Evolution is what brought life on earth(exept for bacteria).There is no such thing as pokemon

  • fujimo

    August 2, 2010 at 12:29 PM

    Who cares , really what relevance dose this have to do with any thing. The time and effort and money spent on this could and should be used elsewhere.

    • Todd

      August 2, 2010 at 1:47 PM

      Yes, how dare we try and understand out past….. fujimo get over it!

    • Violentos

      August 3, 2010 at 1:40 AM

      If research were left in the hands of people like you, humanity would be in a terrible state. We wouldn’t even know what dinosaurs are today. But if it’s in the past who cares I guess right? NOT!

    • Trent

      August 3, 2010 at 4:13 AM

      Through researching things like this we learn things that are then transfered to experiments that ultimately produce medical technology.

    • jenjen

      August 3, 2010 at 3:04 PM

      the most obvious reason this is important is the part about the bones. think about it. Bones that change structure as a being grows older. I’m sure research on that could help a lot when it comes to degenerative bone diseases.

  • Dominic Bui

    August 2, 2010 at 12:56 PM

    so the movie “the land before time” was a lie? nuuuu

  • DW

    August 2, 2010 at 12:59 PM

    Meh, I take whatever Jack Horner says with a grain of salt… I mean come on the dude reckons that the T-Rex was a scavenger, come on buddy, a prehistoric hyena? You can’t be serious.

    • DR

      August 4, 2010 at 4:06 AM

      Jack Horner has years of education and experience. He has done tons of research. That gives him the right to put forth a theory about T Rex. What, exactly, are YOUR qualifications? On top of which, he said the Torosoraus will no longer be a species, not the Triceratops.

    • Templar

      August 18, 2010 at 1:51 PM

      Also, heyenas make pretty damn good predators, when they can be bothered.

  • DinoDan

    August 2, 2010 at 2:01 PM

    TOROSAURUS is no longer valid; Triceratops is safe! This is downright lousy journalism.

  • Phill Ohren

    August 2, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    I’m soooooo sad. I really liked that dinosaur. I need more proof though!!!

  • wm Wit

    August 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM

    First PLUTO and now this ,Its discusting!

  • Seamus Byrne

    August 2, 2010 at 5:12 PM

    Now that I look at it, I wonder why we had never seen this before! I mean, look at that picture, you can see it in its eyes! It’s just a little bitsy baby… poor thing…

    • guyl0l

      August 3, 2010 at 10:02 AM

      You know that isn’t a real picture of a triceratops, right?

      • DR

        August 4, 2010 at 4:09 AM

        It is a real picture. Just not of a real Triceratops.

  • Jim

    August 2, 2010 at 10:44 PM

    Cool looking, massive, angry beasts, battling each other over food. Nice storytelling. All kids love dinosaurs. Wait, what about the UFO’s?

  • craig

    August 2, 2010 at 11:55 PM

    so we’ll read the entire article we’re writing about next time yeah? “Torosaurus will now be abolished as a species and specimens reassigned to Triceratops, says Horner.”

  • JJ

    August 3, 2010 at 12:36 AM

    Of course it existed. This is like saying a caterpillar doesn’t exist because it becomes a butterfly.

    These scientsts wouldn’t get the headlines if they didn’t try this shock tactic…

    • Serenade

      August 3, 2010 at 4:37 PM

      That’s exactly what I was thinking, but I couldn’t put it in words. I applaud you.

      • JeffST

        August 3, 2010 at 10:37 PM

        So babies don’t exist? Only grown-ups? I’m confused…

    • DR

      August 4, 2010 at 4:14 AM

      This is journalism sensationalizing, not the Scientists (or in this case, Palentologists). This would have be put in a Scientific journal for review and response from the scientific community. Bits and pieces are picked out and strung together to make an interesting story by the free press. Not all facts are therefore presented, nor is the title of this article even accurate. If anyone is looking for shock tactics, it’s the author of this article.

  • Cristofer Wolz-Romberger

    August 3, 2010 at 4:08 AM

    Actually, regarding Land Before Time: Aren’t they all kids anyway?

    So it really is a Triceratops. Baby Butterfly is a caterpillar; baby Torosaurus is a Triceratops.

  • DK

    August 3, 2010 at 4:17 AM

    If they could shape shift then why was that skill never handed down to say a crocodile or other spices. It just doesn’t add up.

  • Justin

    August 3, 2010 at 4:57 AM

    so… it’s like a dinosaur, inside of a dinosaur… inside of a dinosaur? #Inceptasaurus?

  • Johanna

    August 3, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    So… triceratops is a pokemon?

  • marcus

    August 3, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    so if it explains y they never found young torosoraus fossils then r they sayin they never found older triceratops fossils??? or mayb like many species of animals they r jus related somehow. but yea tadpoles become froms catepillars become butterflies so they still existed jus got older

  • Skeptic

    August 3, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    Global warming is settled science. There can be no doubt. Even to question it places you outside the bounds of civilized discourse.

    Scientists are NEVER wrong.

    • SDK

      August 21, 2010 at 2:39 PM

      Correction; scientists never STAY wrong. Theories that prove to be false through examination of empirical or experimental data are cast aside like last nights leftovers in favor of those supported by the same data.

  • Steve D

    August 3, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    OMG so power rangers was an entire lie?!!

    • gomugomunomorpher

      August 3, 2010 at 5:24 PM

      nnnnoooooooooooooo!!!!!!! T_T i base my entire existence on the power rangers!
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