Psittacosaurus vs Triceratops

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Psittacosaurus and Triceratops, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Psittacosaurus Triceratops
Scientific Name Psittacosaurus mongoliensis Triceratops horridus
Classification Ceratopsia Ceratopsia
Period Cretaceous Early Cretaceous Late
Diet Herbivore Herbivore
Length 2.0 m 9.0 m
Height 0.6 m 3.0 m
Weight 20 kg 6.8 t
Discovery Year 1923 1889
Discovery Location Mongolia Denver, Colorado, USA
Named By Henry Fairfield Osborn Othniel Charles Marsh
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Size Comparison

Psittacosaurus 2.0 m

about the size of a human adult

Triceratops 9.0 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Weight Comparison

Psittacosaurus 20 kg

lighter than a human adult

Triceratops 6.8 t

about the weight of 1.1 elephants

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Timeline Comparison

Psittacosaurus
145.0 Mya Cretaceous Early (Mesozoic) 100.5 Mya
Triceratops
100.5 Mya Cretaceous Late (Mesozoic) 66.0 Mya
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Diet Comparison

Psittacosaurus

Herbivore

Psittacosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

Triceratops

Herbivore

Triceratops was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

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Classification Comparison

Psittacosaurus

Clade: Ornithischia

Group: Ceratopsia

(Horned faces)

Triceratops

Clade: Ornithischia

Group: Ceratopsia

(Horned faces)

Both dinosaurs share a common ancestor within the Ceratopsia clade.

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Did You Know?

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Triceratops was about 4.5x longer than Psittacosaurus.

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Triceratops weighed roughly 340x more than Psittacosaurus.

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Both Psittacosaurus and Triceratops were herbivores.

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Psittacosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Early while Triceratops lived during the Cretaceous Late, separated by roughly 0 million years.

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Triceratops was discovered 34 years earlier, in 1889.

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Both belong to the Ceratopsia clade, making them relatively close relatives.

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Compare With Other Dinosaurs

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