WHO WILL WIN?
Triceratops
SNORT-HORN
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
THE SETUP

Triceratops vs Sea Lion

Triceratops
Triceratops
Sea Lion
Sea Lion

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

Would they meet?

No. Triceratops and Sea Lion 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

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus · A barking torpedo in a wet tuxedo.

Sea Lion
Home
Pacific coasts · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Sea Lion is big.

Fish chaser in the surf.

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Playful and noisy.

  • Sea Lion is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.
  • Rocky coasts and piers, where barking is a civic duty.

Family: Fur seals and walruses.

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

1.20 m

Sea Lion to scale

Sea Lion

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.

Sea Lion300 kg

As heavy as a couple of grown-ups, shaped like a barking sofa.

Triceratops

3.0 m · 9,000 kg

Triceratops is giant. 9,000 kg.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 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: Speed-bite plus flipper slap
  • Armor: Blubber wetsuit
  • Senses: Whiskers read fish in murk.

Sea Lion · labeled field diagram

Triceratops800 psi bite
Sea Lion400 psi bite

Triceratops

Brow horns plus a beak

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

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

Tool: speed-bite plus flipper slap. Bite: 400 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
Sea Lion
30 km/h
Triceratops24 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h

Triceratops

24 km/h

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

Sea Lion

30 km/h

Sea Lion can go 30 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
TriceratopsSea LionBoth

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.

Sea Lion

Wrong place · Lives in North America

Sea Lion's home is the pacific coasts, not grassland.

No. Triceratops and Sea Lion 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.
Sea Lion
Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

Triceratops

Plants · Does not hunt.

Tough plants cut with a parrot-like beak.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.

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
Sea Lion
Lives in a big group
Triceratops8 grit /10
Sea Lion6 grit /10

Triceratops

Lives in a herd

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

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

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
Sea Lion
6/10
Triceratops3 brains /10
Sea Lion6 brains /10

Triceratops

3/10

Side-set eyes behind a billboard frill.

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

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
Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus

Triceratops

Triceratops horridus

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

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

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
Sea Lion
Porpoise Missile

Triceratops

Frill Wall Charge

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

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

They leap, twist, and snatch fish mid-zoom.

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 · Sea Lion 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Sea Lion 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. Sea Lion uses speed-bite plus flipper slap. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Triceratops tries the Frill Wall Charge. Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. 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 likes grassland more. Sea Lion 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 6 · Sea Lion 2.

Your card: Triceratops 0 · Sea Lion 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 · Sea Lion

Harbor barking. The champ has notes.

Sarah Stierch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY. Source

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