Now this is something truly special!
This is a beautiful Ceratopsian brow horn from either the infamous American three horned dinosaur Triceratops or the similar but even larger Torosaurus from the Hell Creek Formation near Lusk, Wyoming in Niobrara County, Wyoming, USA! The piece measures just over 20.5 inches (52.07 cm) long and 4.5135 x 3.9555 inches (11.46 x 10.05 cm) with fantastic preservation of the blood grooves! There are a few repaired breaks, but no restoration! It comes with a custom metal stand for a beautiful display! This is a truly museum quality piece worthy of display in any fossil collection!
Ceratopsians, also known as “Horned Dinosaurs”, are plant eating dinosaurs that had boney frills on the back of their heads, parrot like beaks, and often (but not always) horns. The most famous of which is the Three Horned Triceratops. Triceratops was one of the most prolific dinosaurs of Late Cretaceous North America. These massive herbivores, nearly 30 feet long and ten tons, and roamed in large herds 66 million years ago. Its most striking features were the large frill and three large horns, one on its snout and two on its brow, that adorned its head. The brow horns could reach up to four feet in length and the frill three feet across! While Triceratops was a sight to behold on its own evidence suggests that it had a contemporary, another Three Horned Ceratopsian that was even bigger called Torosaurus! Torosaurus is a rather unusual genus of dinosaur. Fossils are very rare and indicate it would have been very similar to Triceratops, but bigger and with large holes in its frill whose purpose is unknown. Many paleontologists believe that Torosaurus are simply very large mature Triceratops and that they develop the holes in their frill as they age, while many others argue that Torosaurus represents a different genus.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRICERATOPS: Traditionally any large Ceratopsian remains from the Hell Creek are simply labeled "Triceratops". This is due to the debate around Torosaurus, it's validity as a different species, and that even as a legitimate species it is SUBSTANTIALLY rarer than Triceratops to the point that the overwhelming majority of such material would be identified as Triceratops if possible. However, because of the chance that Torosaurus is a valid species and the inability to tell apart isolated teeth/bones between these two I will be labeling these fossils as "Ceratopsian, Triceratops or Torosaurus" (or just Triceratops type because the two were so similar) to cover all bases.
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Species: Ceratopsian: Triceratops or Torosaurus
Size: just over 20.5 inches (52.07 cm) long and 4.5135 x 3.9555 inches (11.46 x 10.05 cm)
Found: near Lusk, Wyoming in Niobrara County, Wyoming, USA
Formation: Hell Creek Formation
Age: 68-66 million years old
Repair: None