WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs Triceratops

Cheetah
Cheetah
Triceratops
Triceratops

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

Would they meet?

No. Cheetah 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

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

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

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

3.0 m

Triceratops to scale

Triceratops

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

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

Triceratops9,000 kg

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

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 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: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · 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

Cheetah400 psi bite
Triceratops800 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 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?

Cheetah
110 km/h
Triceratops
24 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CheetahTriceratopsBoth

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

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

Triceratops

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Triceratops lives in places like grassland.

No. Cheetah 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?

Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.
Triceratops
Plants · Does not hunt.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

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.

Cheetah
Lives alone
Triceratops
Lives in a herd
Cheetah6 grit /10
Triceratops8 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. Grit: 6/10.

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?

Cheetah
6/10
Triceratops
3/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
Triceratops3 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

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?

Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Triceratops
Triceratops horridus

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

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?

Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom
Triceratops
Frill Wall Charge

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

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: Cheetah 0 · Triceratops 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Triceratops is heavier. Cheetah uses high-speed trip claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. 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. Cheetah 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: Cheetah 3 · Triceratops 3 · ties 2.

Your card: Cheetah 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 · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll