WHO WILL WIN?
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
THE SETUP

Triceratops vs Komodo Dragon

Triceratops
Triceratops
Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon

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

Would they meet?

No. Triceratops and Komodo Dragon 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

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.

Corner B

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis · A walking dinosaur with a chemistry set.

Komodo Dragon
Home
Indonesian islands · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Komodo Dragon is medium.

Ambush lizard.

Tongue tastes the air.

Slow-looking predator.

  • Komodo Dragon is medium and not very fast.
  • Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.
  • Hot, dry islands where a giant lizard can own the trail.

Family: Other monitor lizards.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

3.0 m

Triceratops to scale

Triceratops

0.50 m

Komodo Dragon to scale

Komodo Dragon

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

Triceratops9,000 kg

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

Komodo Dragon80 kg

Longer than a bike, lower than a coffee table, heavier than a grown-up's suitcase.

Triceratops

3.0 m · 9,000 kg

Triceratops is giant. 9,000 kg.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 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: Brow horns plus a beak
  • Armor: Bone frill shield
  • Senses: Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

Triceratops · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Venom-slick bite
  • Armor: Osteoderm chainmail
  • Senses: Tongue tastes the air.

Komodo Dragon · labeled field diagram

Triceratops800 psi bite
Komodo Dragon600 psi bite

Triceratops

Brow horns plus a beak

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

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

Tool: venom-slick bite. Bite: 600 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Triceratops
24 km/h
Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h

Triceratops

24 km/h

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

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

Komodo Dragon can go 20 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
TriceratopsKomodo DragonBoth

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

Triceratops

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Triceratops lives in places like grassland.

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like grassland.

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

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Triceratops
Plants · Does not hunt.
Komodo Dragon
Meat · Ambush lizard.

Triceratops

Plants · Does not hunt.

Tough plants cut with a parrot-like beak.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

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.

Triceratops
Lives in a herd
Komodo Dragon
Lives alone
Triceratops8 grit /10
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10

Triceratops

Lives in a herd

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

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. 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?

Triceratops
3/10
Komodo Dragon
4/10
Triceratops3 brains /10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10

Triceratops

3/10

Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Triceratops
Triceratops horridus
Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis

Triceratops

Triceratops horridus

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

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

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?

Triceratops
Frill Wall Charge
Komodo Dragon
Patient Island Ambush

Triceratops

Frill Wall Charge

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

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

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: Triceratops 0 · Komodo Dragon 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Triceratops runs first. Komodo Dragon does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Triceratops is heavier. Komodo Dragon uses venom-slick bite. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Triceratops tries the Frill Wall Charge. Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. 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. Komodo Dragon 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: Triceratops 3 · Komodo Dragon 3 · ties 2.

Your card: Triceratops 0 · Komodo Dragon 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 · Komodo Dragon

Dragon walk. Tongue out. Homework done.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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