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About Triceratops:
The three-horned dinosaur Triceratops--which is familiar to millions of kids in plastic toy form--has the dubious distinction of being one of the last of its breed, the ceratopsians, to appear before the K/T Extinction Event that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the earth. (See 10 Facts About Triceratops and a gallery of Triceratops pictures.)
As fearsome as it looked, Triceratops was a strict vegetarian. Scientists think its distinctive horns may have evolved for two reasons: either for use as mating displays (i.e., Triceratops males with bigger, sharper horns was able to mate with more females), and/or as a form of defense against the larger predators of the late Cretaceous period, like Tyrannosaurus Rex. A recent study has shown that many of the contusions on fossilized Triceratops bones were caused by Triceratops horns, which implies a role for intra-species combat as well (i.e., the horns were used to defend territory or establish dominance within the herd). See this article for an analysis of who would win a battle between Triceratops and T. Rex.
One reason Triceratops is so well known is its large, bony skull, which fossilized fairly easily (and often in one piece)--a feature it shared in common with other ceratopsians. For this reason, complete Triceratops skulls have become prized items at auctions worldwide, fetching millions of dollars from wealthy bidders.
