Pentaceratops

Pentaceratops, meaning “five horned face”, was an ornischian (bird-hipped) dinosaur, and was part of the family Ceratopsia. In the brief time that it roamed the earth, Pentaceratops, like the other members of its brood, were highly successful, and for a time, the earth was overrun by millions of these bulky tank-like creatures. Pentaceratops, despite its name, only had three true horns. the other two were no more than elongated cheekbones, a feature which was a common characteristic of many other ceratopsians. Pentaceratops, as with all horned dinosaurs, had a curved, toothless beak which it used to nip leaves of plants. Also one of Pentaceratops, and indeed, all of its relative’s, defining features was its large ornate defensive crest-shield, which was used both to protect from and deter predators, and to use in courtship and mating rituals.

The frill-face of the Pentaceratops was less thick, and much more weaker than the regular frill of the most common ceratopsid, Triceratops. If a tyrannosaur such as Gorgosaurus or Albertosaurus were to attack a Pentaceratops, it would’ve fallen prey, as its frill wouldn’t have stopped its devastating bite. However, the frill was stretched, huge, and probably was a vibrant color or was used in some sort of way to deter the predator, by intimidation. The skull of a Pentaceratops is the largest skull of any land-based animal to have ever lived, almost as large as a 4th grader.