Torosauruses were bigger forms of Triceratops who lived in the western provinces of present-day North America. They inhabited the world during the later part of the Late Cretaceous period around 68-66 million years ago.
It is believed that these dinosaur species faced extinction during the mass extinction event that happened on Earth. Torosaurus skulls were huge, probably one of the biggest terrestrial animal skulls ever. They had a long frill with two holes in it.
These frills were very strong and protected their neck from getting bitten by predators. The name torosaurus has been built with two words 'taurus' and 'saurus' which means 'big bull lizards'.
This is just the beginning. Ahead in the article, we have interesting and funny Torosaurus facts which will surely amaze you.
And for more relevant articles, read our Dakotaraptor facts and Bajadasaurus facts for kids.
Torosaurus Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Torosaurus'?
Torosaurus is simply pronounced as 'toro-saw-us'. They were inhabitants of western North America. According to what their fossil says, they were present on Earth during the Late Cretaceous period and were herbivorous animals.
What type of dinosaur was a Torosaurus?
Torosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur that lived on the continent of North America. They were like a mature form of the triceratops.
They inhabited the world during the later late cretaceous period around 68-66 million years ago. According to paleontology, these dinosaurs belonged to the order Ornithischia, suborder Ceratopsia, family Ceratopsidae, subfamily Chasmosaurinae, tribe Triceratopsini, and genus Torosaurus. Their scientific name is Torosaurus latus.
In which geological period did the Torosaurus roam the Earth?
Torosaurus roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period around 68-66 million years ago. They were ceratopsid dinosaur species who lived in the western provinces of North America. According to paleontologists, these animals were herbivorous in nature.
When did the Torosaurus become extinct?
Ceratopsian dinosaur Torosaurus were inhabitants of North America during the Late Cretaceous period around 68-66 million years ago. It is believed that they got wiped out during the mass extinction event.
Where did a Torosaurus live?
In the natural history of dinosaurs, Torosaurus were big herbivorous dinosaurs who roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period. They were present on earth around 68-66 million years ago and were found in western North America. Their fossils were found in southeastern Wyoming and Niobrara County.
What was a Torosaurus' habitat?
Torosaurus dinosaurs had huge features. They were terrestrial herbivores who grazed around the western part of North America during the Late Cretaceous period. They would have lived in forests or open grasslands.
Who did a Torosaurus live with?
Torosauruses were most probably group feeders. According to their specimen, they were land-dwelling ceratopsian dinosaurs who ate plants. Now we know that herbivore animals have this trait of living in groups in order to protect each other from predators. These animals would almost certainly have done the same.
How long did a Torosaurus live?
According to the fossils, Torosaurus was a mature form of the Triceratops. So maybe they had a similar lifespan range. Triceratops lived for around 70-80 years so we can say that Torosaurus also lived for around 70-80 years.
How did they reproduce?
Torosaurus were herbivorous reptiles who lived on the continent of North America. They looked like Triceratops and also had a strong frill. Now, we know that reptiles reproduce by laying eggs. Torosaurus had done the same too.
Torosaurus Fun Facts
What did a Torosaurus look like?
The development of an adult Torosaurus' body was similar to that of a Triceratops. Torosaurus lived in the western provinces of North America.
Paleontologists mention that they inhabited the world during the last phase of the Cretaceous period, around 68-66 million years ago. Torosauruses were big horned herbivorous dinosaurs. They had a big bull-like external appearance.
They had a big body, big frill, huge skull, and four pillar-like legs. These prehistoric animal species had two big and long horns at the top of their head and a small horn on their nose.
They had a medium-sized tail. According to paleontologists, the Torosaurus skull is one of the biggest animal skulls ever found. Out of all terrestrial animals, Torosaurus had one of the largest skulls with elongated frills.
The elongated frills gave the skull its big size and had two holes in it. The frill holes were at the top of the frill.
They had two special brow horns at the top of their eyes. They also had some large openings near their nose. Their dorsal and basal body had solid and heavy bones.
Their legs were strong enough to provide them with the ability to run. As per the evidence stored from the Torosaurus, the skeleton remains, the adult body length was around 26-30 ft (7.9-9.1 m) and their body weight was around 4-6 tons (3628.7-5443.1 kg).
How many bones did a Torosaurus have?
There is no exact answer to this question available. Torosaurus had strong and heavy bones in their body. Their skull bone was is one of the biggest terrestrial animal skull bones. They had several horns on their skull. Their frill was also quite long and had two holes in it.
How did they communicate?
Torosaurus were plant-eating dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period. We can assume that they would have communicated through growling or screeching voices. Their exact voice texture is not known and we can only imagine that.
How big was a Torosaurus?
Torosauruses were a mature form of Triceratops. They were huge in size, even bigger than Triceratops. Their external features were strong and tough. Torosaurus' body length was around 26-30 ft (7.9-9.1 m).
How fast could a Torosaurus move?
Torosaurus were big dinosaurs from the later Cretaceous period. There is no information available on their running speed.
How much did a Torosaurus weigh?
According to the fossils found by paleontologists, Torosaurus were big herbivorous dinosaurs who roamed around North America. Torosaurus skulls were huge because of the elongated frill part.
They had huge bodies with strong and heavy bones. From their specimens, it was shown that their body size was around 26-30 ft (7.9-9.1 m) long and they weighed around 4-6 tons (3628.7-5443.1 kg).
What were the male and female names of the species?
There are no sex-specific names given to the males and females of this species.
What would you call a baby Torosaurus?
Like all other baby dinosaurs, baby Torosauruses are known as hatchlings.
What did they eat?
According to their fossils, Torosaurus were in the genus of herbivorous dinosaurs, so their diet would have consisted of plant matter.
How aggressive were they?
As per the natural history of dinosaurs, Torosauruses were docile-natured dinosaurs.
Did you know...
Torosaurus specimens were found in the year 1891 by John Bell Hatcher.
Where was the Torosaurus discovered?
Torosaurus was discovered around the western provinces of the North American continent from Saskatchewan to the south of Texas.
Torosaurus vs. triceratops
Torosaurus, triceratops comparison (Triceratops vs Torosaurus) is not that tough. Torosaurus size was comparatively bigger than Triceratops. They had transitional forms but differed in size.
Even the biggest Triceratops specimens were smaller than Torosaurus. You can say that triceratops were juvenile Torosaurus. The other main difference was in their skulls. Torosaurus frill was way bigger than that of Triceratops and had longer head-horns.
On the other hand, triceratops had a bigger nose horn. Torosaurus had large openings near their nasal part. Other than that, their physical features were nearly the same.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Spiclypeus fun facts or Camarasaurus facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Torosaurus coloring pages.
Main image by Nobu Tamura