WHO WILL WIN?
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
THE SETUP

Alligator vs Triceratops

Alligator
Alligator
Triceratops
Triceratops

Pretend they meet in river country. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Alligator and Triceratops did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis · A living log with a U-shaped grin.

Alligator
Home
American swamps · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Alligator is big.

Ambush from the float.

Night river hunter.

Looks like a log with a secret.

  • Alligator is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.
  • Freshwater marshes and slow rivers.

Family: Crocodiles and caimans.

Corner B

Triceratops

Triceratops horridus · Three horns and a face-shield the size of a door.

Triceratops
Home
Late Cretaceous plains of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Triceratops is giant.

Does not hunt.

Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

A living battering ram with opinions.

  • Triceratops is giant and not very fast.
  • Tough plants cut with a parrot-like beak.
  • Same Late Cretaceous neighborhood as T.

Family: Other horned dinosaurs: Styracosaurus, Pentaceratops, and the whole ceratopsian family.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

Alligator to scale

Alligator

3.0 m

Triceratops to scale

Triceratops

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

Triceratops9,000 kg

As heavy as a large elephant, with a skull longer than you are tall.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 kg.

Triceratops

3.0 m · 9,000 kg

Triceratops is giant. 9,000 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: Trapdoor jaws
  • Armor: Osteoderm jacket
  • Senses: Night river hunter.

Alligator · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Brow horns plus a beak
  • Armor: Bone frill shield
  • Senses: Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

Triceratops · labeled field diagram

Alligator3000 psi bite
Triceratops800 psi bite

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

Tool: trapdoor jaws. Bite: 3,000 psi.

Triceratops

Brow horns plus a beak

Tool: brow horns plus a beak. Bite: 800 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Alligator
24 km/h
Triceratops
24 km/h
Alligator24 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h

Alligator

24 km/h

Alligator can go 24 km/h. That is not very fast.

Triceratops

24 km/h

Triceratops can go 24 km/h. That is not very fast.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
AlligatorTriceratopsBoth

Meeting biome: river country. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Alligator

This is home · Lives in North America

Alligator lives in places like river country.

Triceratops

Can handle it · Lived in North America long ago

Triceratops's home is the late cretaceous plains of western north america, not river country.

No. Alligator and Triceratops did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Alligator
Meat · Ambush from the float.
Triceratops
Plants · Does not hunt.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.

Triceratops

Plants · Does not hunt.

Tough plants cut with a parrot-like beak.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Alligator
Lives alone
Triceratops
Lives in a herd
Alligator7 grit /10
Triceratops8 grit /10

Alligator

Lives alone

Looks like a log with a secret. Grit: 7/10.

Triceratops

Lives in a herd

A living battering ram with opinions. Grit: 8/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Alligator
4/10
Triceratops
3/10
Alligator4 brains /10
Triceratops3 brains /10

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

Triceratops

3/10

Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
Triceratops
Triceratops horridus

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

Triceratops

Triceratops horridus

Other horned dinosaurs: Styracosaurus, Pentaceratops, and the whole ceratopsian family.

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Alligator
Gator-Gap Lunge
Triceratops
Frill Wall Charge

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

Triceratops

Frill Wall Charge

Lower the head, present the hardware, and make a predator argue with a moving fortress.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Alligator 0 · Triceratops 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Alligator runs first. Triceratops does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Triceratops is heavier. Alligator uses trapdoor jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. Triceratops tries the Frill Wall Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Triceratops!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On river country, Triceratops wins. Triceratops is a lot heavier. Alligator would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Alligator 3 · Triceratops 2 · ties 3.

Your card: Alligator 0 · Triceratops 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Also starring · Alligator

Log? Nope. Champ.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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