WHO WILL WIN?
Carnotaurus
SNARL-HORN
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
THE SETUP

Carnotaurus vs Triceratops

Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Triceratops
Triceratops

Pretend a carnotaurus and a triceratops meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild carnotauruss and triceratopss would not meet. We still look at the facts.

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

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus sastrei · Bull horns, tiny arms, and a sprinter's tail.

Carnotaurus
Home
Late Cretaceous plains of Patagonia · Lived in South America long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Carnotaurus is huge.

Sprint hunter of Patagonia.

A runner's kit: look, chase, bite.

A bull-headed sprinter.

  • Carnotaurus is huge and fast.
  • Medium plant-eaters on South American plains.
  • Late Cretaceous Argentina.

Family: Abelisaurids like Abelisaurus and Majungasaurus.

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

2.5 m

Carnotaurus to scale

Carnotaurus

3.0 m

Triceratops to scale

Triceratops

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

Carnotaurus1,400 kg

About as heavy as a small car, hip-tall as a doorway, with horns a bull would respect.

Triceratops9,000 kg

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

Carnotaurus

2.5 m · 1,400 kg

Carnotaurus is huge. 1,400 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: Horned skull plus a meat-slicer jaw
  • Armor: Bumpy hide
  • Senses: A runner's kit: look, chase, bite.

Carnotaurus · 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

Carnotaurus1500 psi bite
Triceratops800 psi bite

Carnotaurus

Horned skull plus a meat-slicer jaw

Tool: horned skull plus a meat-slicer jaw. Bite: 1,500 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?

Carnotaurus
48 km/h
Triceratops
24 km/h
Carnotaurus48 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h

Carnotaurus

48 km/h

Carnotaurus can go 48 km/h. That is 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CarnotaurusTriceratopsBoth

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

Carnotaurus

This is home · Lived in South America long ago

Carnotaurus lives in places like grassland.

Triceratops

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Triceratops lives in places like grassland.

No. Wild carnotauruss and triceratopss would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Carnotaurus
Meat · Sprint hunter of Patagonia.
Triceratops
Plants · Does not hunt.

Carnotaurus

Meat · Sprint hunter of Patagonia.

Medium plant-eaters on South American plains.

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.

Carnotaurus
Lives alone
Triceratops
Lives in a herd
Carnotaurus7 grit /10
Triceratops8 grit /10

Carnotaurus

Lives alone

A bull-headed sprinter. 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?

Carnotaurus
4/10
Triceratops
3/10
Carnotaurus4 brains /10
Triceratops3 brains /10

Carnotaurus

4/10

A runner's kit: look, chase, bite.

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?

Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus sastrei
Triceratops
Triceratops horridus

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus sastrei

Abelisaurids like Abelisaurus and Majungasaurus.

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?

Carnotaurus
Patagonia Sprint Horns
Triceratops
Frill Wall Charge

Carnotaurus

Patagonia Sprint Horns

The tail and legs look built for speed.

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: Carnotaurus 0 · Triceratops 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Carnotaurus runs first. Triceratops does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Triceratops is heavier. Carnotaurus uses horned skull plus a meat-slicer jaw. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Carnotaurus tries the Patagonia Sprint Horns. 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

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

On grassland, Triceratops wins. Triceratops is a lot heavier. Carnotaurus 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: Carnotaurus 2 · Triceratops 3 · ties 3.

Your card: Carnotaurus 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.

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