Dinosaur genus

Triceratops

Marsh 1889

Triceratops is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in the United States and Canada.

Also calledzh 三角龍

medium

medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?7 high11 medium5 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 4 October 2026

83.6–66 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Marsh 1889
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: O. C. Marsh (1889). Notice of gigantic horned Dinosauria from the Cretaceous. American Journal of Science 38: 173–175. Read it
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Marsh 1889), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Type species: Triceratops horridus
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Lived: Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 135 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: United States
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Canada
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (13 records).
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Lance Formation
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Laramie Formation
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Denver
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Ferris
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Frenchman
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (11 records).
Hell Creek Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (60 records).
Dinosaur Park
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Hall Lake
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Medicine Bow
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Scollard
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Ceratopsidae
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Triceratopsini
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Ornithischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Species named in its records: Triceratops albertensis, Triceratops brevicornus, Triceratops calicornis, Triceratops elatus, Triceratops eurycephalus, Triceratops flabellatus, Triceratops horridus, Triceratops obtusus, Triceratops prorsus, Triceratops serratus, Triceratops sulcatus
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Older or other names: Diceratops (a junior synonym); Diceratus (a junior synonym); Nedoceratops (a junior synonym); Ojoceratops (a junior synonym); Sterrholophus (a junior synonym); Tatankaceratops (a junior synonym)
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (names it treats as this genus).
Diet: herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ceratopsia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ceratopsia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 24 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Held back: 7 fossil records left out: identified as a related genus rather than this one.
Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); common names (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Triceratops meet ?

Yes. Both are found, identified to species, in the same rocks of the same age: Dinosaur Park, Frenchman, Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Triceratops by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 59

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Richardoestesia Tyrannosaurus Saurornitholestes Edmontosaurus Paronychodon Thescelosaurus Centrosaurus Troodon Pachycephalosaurus Dromaeosaurus Corythosaurus Chirostenotes Chasmosaurus Ornithomimus Lambeosaurus Ankylosaurusand 43 more

Same family: Ceratopsidae 25

Other genera in Ceratopsidae with a full profile.

Achelousaurus Agujaceratops Albertaceratops Anchiceratops Arrhinoceratops Avaceratops Bisticeratops Bravoceratops Centrosaurus Ceratopsipes Chasmosaurus Coahuilaceratops Coronosaurus Crittendenceratops Diabloceratops Einiosaurusand 9 more

Named by Marsh 18

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Allosaurus Ammosaurus Anchisaurus Apatosaurus Barosaurus Brontosaurus Camptosaurus Ceratosaurus Claosaurus Coelurus Diplodocus Dryosaurus Dryptosaurus Nanosaurus Nodosaurus Ornithomimusand 2 more

Found in United States 105

Other genera found in United States, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Tyrannosaurus Edmontosaurus Richardoestesia Paronychodon Thescelosaurus Saurornitholestes Troodon Pachycephalosaurus Alamosaurus Stegoceras Ornithomimus Dromaeosaurus Kritosaurus Agujaceratops Chirostenotes Parasaurolophusand 89 more

Where its fossils were found

115 fossil sites, with present-day and ancient positions

Open the map at this time

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Triceratops. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/triceratops. Data as of 4 October 2026.

What's changed

12 Oct 2026
Rock formations: removed Ojo Alamo.

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Also recorded in: Paleobiology Database · Wikipedia (English) · GBIF · Wikidata Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

15 openly licensed pictures of Triceratops on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

202007 Triceratops horridus.svg
DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS), CC BY 4.0
LA-Triceratops mount-2.jpg
Source: Allie_Caulfield Derivative: User:MathKnight, CC BY-SA 3.0
Triceratops ROM Toronto.jpg
Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 3.0
UCMP Triceratops right.JPG
EncycloPetey, CC BY-SA 3.0

The rest are listed in the JSON download.

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.