What happened to the Triceratops skeleton Big John in 2021?

It sold for a record price for a dinosaur at auction at the time

Ceratopsians Quiz: Triceratops Horns, Frills and Relatives

Horned dinosaurs with bony frills roamed Asia and North America for millions of years, and this ceratopsians quiz introduces the family. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Triceratops, the bison mix-up, Othniel Marsh, the rostral bone, Protoceratops and the griffin legend, Styracosaurus, Kosmoceratops, Psittacosaurus, the Torosaurus debate and a record auction.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Name
What does ceratopsian mean?
Bison
What were the first Triceratops horn fossils mistaken for?
Namer
Who named Triceratops in 1889?
Beak
Which bone forms the tip of a ceratopsian's beak?
Proto
Which small hornless ceratopsian lived in Mongolia?
Griffin
Which legend may have been inspired by Protoceratops fossils?
Spikes
Which ceratopsian had long spikes around its frill?
Kosmo
Which Utah ceratopsian had about 15 horns?
Debate
Which dinosaur was proposed in 2010 to be adult Triceratops?
Auction
What happened to the Triceratops skeleton Big John in 2021?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What does ceratopsian mean?
Answer: Horned face
From Greek words.
Q2: What were the first Triceratops horn fossils mistaken for?
Answer: A giant bison's horns
Othniel Marsh later corrected it.
Q3: Who named Triceratops in 1889?
Answer: Othniel Charles Marsh
Its name means three-horned face.
Q4: Which bone forms the tip of a ceratopsian's beak?
Answer: The rostral bone
It is unique to ceratopsians.
Q5: Which small hornless ceratopsian lived in Mongolia?
Answer: Protoceratops
It is common in Gobi fossils.
Q6: Which legend may have been inspired by Protoceratops fossils?
Answer: The griffin
Folklorist Adrienne Mayor proposed it.
Q7: Which ceratopsian had long spikes around its frill?
Answer: Styracosaurus
Its name means spiked lizard.
Q8: Which Utah ceratopsian had about 15 horns?
Answer: Kosmoceratops
It was named in 2010.
Q9: Which dinosaur was proposed in 2010 to be adult Triceratops?
Answer: Torosaurus
Not all scientists agree.
Q10: What happened to the Triceratops skeleton Big John in 2021?
Answer: It sold for a record price for a dinosaur at auction at the time
It sold in Paris.

Ceratopsians Quiz – Triceratops Horns, Frills and Relatives

Ceratopsians, horned-face dinosaurs, had a unique rostral bone at the tip of their beaks. Triceratops, from the end of the Cretaceous in North America, had three horns and a solid frill. Its first horn fossils were mistaken for a giant bison's before Othniel Marsh named it in 1889.

Smaller relatives include hornless Protoceratops from Mongolia, whose fossils may have inspired the griffin legend, and early parrot-beaked Psittacosaurus. Styracosaurus had long frill spikes, and Kosmoceratops from Utah had about 15 horns.

In 2010 researchers proposed that Torosaurus was simply adult Triceratops, a debate that continues. In 2021 the Triceratops skeleton Big John sold in Paris for a record price for a dinosaur at the time.

What This Quiz Teaches

Dinosaur fans will enjoy these questions.

What ceratopsians are
How Triceratops was named
Which relatives existed
Which debates continue
Which fossils made headlines

Did You Know?

Frills may have been used for display.
Ceratopsians had powerful shearing teeth.
Many lived in herds.
Triceratops faced Tyrannosaurus in the same era.
Bite marks show T. rex attacked them.