WHO WILL WIN?
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
THE SETUP

Spinosaurus vs Triceratops

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus
Triceratops
Triceratops

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

Would they meet?

No. Spinosaurus lived in long ago. Triceratops lived in long ago. Pretend meeting.

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

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus · A sail-backed river hunter longer than a bus.

Spinosaurus
Home
Mid-Cretaceous rivers of North Africa · Lived in Africa long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Spinosaurus is giant.

River specialist.

A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

Boss of a Cretaceous river.

  • Spinosaurus is giant and not very fast.
  • Giant fish, and probably other animals that came to drink.
  • Cretaceous North Africa, about 95 million years ago — rivers and mangrove-ish coasts, not the Serengeti.

Family: Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

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

2.8 m

Spinosaurus to scale

Spinosaurus

3.0 m

Triceratops to scale

Triceratops

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

Spinosaurus7,000 kg

Longer than T. rex, maybe as long as a city bus, with a sail that could top a doorway.

Triceratops9,000 kg

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

Spinosaurus

2.8 m · 7,000 kg

Spinosaurus is giant. 7,000 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: Croc-snout plus canoe claws
  • Armor: Sail and dense bones
  • Senses: A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

Spinosaurus · 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

Spinosaurus2000 psi bite
Triceratops800 psi bite

Spinosaurus

Croc-snout plus canoe claws

Tool: croc-snout plus canoe claws. Bite: 2,000 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?

Spinosaurus
18 km/h
Triceratops
24 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h

Spinosaurus

18 km/h

Spinosaurus can go 18 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
SpinosaurusTriceratopsBoth

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

Spinosaurus

Not their home · Lived in Africa long ago

Spinosaurus's home is the mid-cretaceous rivers of north africa, not grassland.

Triceratops

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Triceratops lives in places like grassland.

No. Spinosaurus lived in long ago. Triceratops lived in long ago. Pretend meeting.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Spinosaurus
Meat · River specialist.
Triceratops
Plants · Does not hunt.

Spinosaurus

Meat · River specialist.

Giant fish, and probably other animals that came to drink.

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.

Spinosaurus
Lives alone
Triceratops
Lives in a herd
Spinosaurus7 grit /10
Triceratops8 grit /10

Spinosaurus

Lives alone

Boss of a Cretaceous river. 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?

Spinosaurus
4/10
Triceratops
3/10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10
Triceratops3 brains /10

Spinosaurus

4/10

A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

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?

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
Triceratops
Triceratops horridus

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

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?

Spinosaurus
River-Ambush Paddle
Triceratops
Frill Wall Charge

Spinosaurus

River-Ambush Paddle

Spinosaurus was built to hunt in rivers.

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: Spinosaurus 0 · Triceratops 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Triceratops is heavier. Spinosaurus uses croc-snout plus canoe claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Spinosaurus tries the River-Ambush Paddle. 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 CLEAR PICK

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

On grassland, Triceratops wins. Triceratops likes grassland more. Spinosaurus 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: Spinosaurus 2 · Triceratops 4 · ties 2.

Your card: Spinosaurus 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.

1/17 · scroll