Editing Triceratops (section)

===Dentition and diet===
[[File:Tric1.JPG|thumb|Close up of the jaws and teeth]]
''Triceratops'' were [[herbivorous]] and, because of their low slung head, their primary food was probably low growing vegetation, although they may have been able to knock down taller plants with their horns, [[beak]], and sheer bulk.<ref name="Dino2"/><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tait | first1 = J. | last2 = Brown | first2 = B. | year = 1928 | title = How the Ceratopsia carried and used their head | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada | volume = 22 | pages = 13–23 }}</ref> The jaws were tipped with a deep, narrow beak, believed to have been better at grasping and plucking than biting.<ref name="Ostrom66"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erickson |first1=Gregory M. |last2=Sidebottom |first2=Mark A. |last3=Kay |first3=David I. |last4=Turner |first4=Kevin T. |last5=Ip |first5=Nathan |last6=Norell |first6=Mark A. |last7=Sawyer |first7=W. Gregory |last8=Krick |first8=Brandon A. |date=2015-06-05 |title=Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur Triceratops |journal=Science Advances |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=e1500055 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500055 |pmc=4640618 |pmid=26601198|bibcode=2015SciA....1E0055E }}</ref>

''Triceratops'' teeth were arranged in groups called batteries, which contained 36 to 40 tooth columns in each side of each jaw and 3 to 5 stacked teeth per column, depending on the size of the animal.<ref name="Dino2"/> This gives a range of 432 to 800 teeth, of which only a fraction were in use at any given time (as tooth replacement was continuous throughout the life of the animal).<ref name="Dino2"/> They functioned by shearing in a vertical to near-vertical orientation.<ref name="Dino2"/> Additionally, their teeth wore as they fed, creating fullers that minimised friction as they masticated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erickson |first1=Gregory M. |last2=Sidebottom |first2=Mark A. |last3=Kay |first3=David I. |last4=Turner |first4=Kevin T. |last5=Ip |first5=Nathan |last6=Norell |first6=Mark A. |last7=Sawyer |first7=W. Gregory |last8=Krick |first8=Brandon A. |date=June 5, 2015 |title=Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur Triceratops |journal=[[Science Advances]] |language=en |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=e1500055 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500055 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=4640618 |pmid=26601198 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0055E }}</ref> The great size and numerous teeth of ''Triceratops'' suggests that they ate large volumes of [[Flowering plant|fibrous plant]] material.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Erickson |first1=Gregory M. |last2=Sidebottom |first2=Mark A. |last3=Kay |first3=David I. |last4=Turner |first4=Kevin T. |last5=Ip |first5=Nathan |last6=Norell |first6=Mark A. |last7=Sawyer |first7=W. Gregory |last8=Krick |first8=Brandon A. |date=June 5, 2015 |title=Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur Triceratops |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=e1500055 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500055 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=4640618 |pmid=26601198 |bibcode=2015SciA....1E0055E }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maiorino |first1=Leonardo |last2=Farke |first2=Andrew A. |last3=Kotsakis |first3=Tassos |last4=Teresi |first4=Luciano |last5=Piras |first5=Paolo |date=September 11, 2015 |title=Variation in the shape and mechanical performance of the lower jaws in ceratopsid dinosaurs (Ornithischia, Ceratopsia) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.12374 |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=227 |issue=5 |pages=631–646 |doi=10.1111/joa.12374 |pmid=26467240 |issn=0021-8782|pmc=4609198 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Nicholas |date=January 29, 2019 |title=A Day in the Life of Triceratops |url=https://dinomuseum.ca/2019/01/a-day-in-the-life-of-triceratops |access-date=April 15, 2025 |website=Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum |language=en-CA}}</ref> Other plants that were a part of Triceratops's diet included [[Populus|''Populus'' plants]], [[Pine|Pine plants]], [[Platanus|''Platanus'' plants]], [[Hazel|''Hazel'' plants]], and [[Taxodium|''Taxodium'' plants]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2017 |title=A triceratopsian diet |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/redpath/article/triceratopsian-diet |access-date=April 15, 2025 |website=Redpath Museum |language=en}}</ref> Some researchers suggest it, along with its cousin ''Torosaurus'' ate [[Arecaceae|palms]] and [[cycad]]s<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ostrom |first=J. H. |year=1964 |title=A functional analysis of jaw mechanics in the dinosaur ''Triceratops'' |url=http://www.peabody.yale.edu/scipubs/bulletins_postillas/ypmP088_1964.pdf |journal=Postilla |volume=88 |pages=1–35 |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-date=June 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626220725/http://www.peabody.yale.edu/scipubs/bulletins_postillas/ypmP088_1964.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Weishampel | first1 = D. B. | journal = Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology | title = Evolution of Jaw Mechanisms in Ornithopod Dinosaurs | year = 1984 | volume = 87 | pages = 1–110 | pmid = 6464809 | doi=10.1007/978-3-642-69533-9| series = Advances in Anatomy Embryology and Cell Biology | isbn = 978-3-540-13114-4 | s2cid = 12547312 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fricke |first1=Henry C. |last2=Pearson |first2=Dean A. |date=2008 |title=Stable isotope evidence for changes in dietary niche partitioning among hadrosaurian and ceratopsian dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Formation, North Dakota |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1666/08020.1 |journal=Paleobiology |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=534–552 |doi=10.1666/08020.1 |bibcode=2008Pbio...34..534F |issn=0094-8373}}</ref> and others suggest it ate [[fern]]s, which then grew in prairies.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Origins of Angiosperms and their Biological Consequences |last1=Coe |first1=M. J. |last2=Dilcher |first2=D. L. |last3=Farlow |first3=J. O. |last4=Jarzen |first4=D. M. |last5=Russell |first5=D. A. |date=1987 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-32357-4 |editor-last=Friis |editor-first=E. M. |pages=225–258 |chapter=Dinosaurs and land plants |editor2-last=Chaloner |editor2-first=W. G. |editor3-last=Crane |editor3-first=P. R.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=de Rooij |first1=Jimmy |last2=van der Lubbe |first2=Jeroen H. J. L. |last3=Verdegaal |first3=Suzan |last4=Hulscher |first4=Megan |last5=Tooms |first5=Daphne |last6=Kaskes |first6=Pim |last7=Verhage |first7=Oeki |last8=Portanger |first8=Leonie |last9=Schulp |first9=Anne S. |date=December 1, 2022 |title=Stable isotope record of Triceratops from a mass accumulation (Lance Formation, Wyoming, USA) provides insights into Triceratops behaviour and ecology |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003101822200445X |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=607 |pages=111274 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111274 |bibcode=2022PPP...60711274D |issn=0031-0182 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |access-date=November 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226074157/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003101822200445X |url-status=live }}</ref> Studies of the isotopes of ceratopsian and hadrosaur teeth revealed that ''Triceratops'' and ''Edmontosaurus'' respectively engaged in [[Ecological niche|niche partitioning]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fricke |first1=Henry C. |last2=Pearson |first2=Dean A. |date=October 2008 |title=Stable isotope evidence for changes in dietary niche partitioning among hadrosaurian and ceratopsian dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Formation, North Dakota |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/stable-isotope-evidence-for-changes-in-dietary-niche-partitioning-among-hadrosaurian-and-ceratopsian-dinosaurs-of-the-hell-creek-formation-north-dakota/C96E90222D1D728292F0343828FC213B |journal=Paleobiology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=534–552 |doi=10.1666/08020.1 |bibcode=2008Pbio...34..534F |issn=0094-8373}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=P. M. |last2=Gee |first2=C. T. |last3=Hummel |first3=J. |last4=Clauss |first4=Marcus |date=2010-06-23 |editor-last=Gee |editor-first=C. T. |title=Mesozoic plants and dinosaur herbivory |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/35283/ |journal=Life of the Past |pages=331–359 |doi=10.5167/uzh-35283}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barrett |first1=Paul M. |last2=Rayfield |first2=Emily J. |date=2006-04-01 |title=Ecological and evolutionary implications of dinosaur feeding behaviour |url=https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(06)00023-1 |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=English |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=217–224 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2006.01.002 |issn=0169-5347 |pmid=16701088}}</ref>