Triceratops

Triceratops prorsus is a species of herbivorous quadripedal dinosaur that, while extinct since the Mesozoic Era on the planet Earth, are a vital and thriving part of the ecosystem of Eden. Here in this purgatorial paradise, dinosaurs are alive and well—and some even serve as the kick-ass steeds of the most kick-ass society in all creation.

 

Domesticated by The Democratic Republic of the Reek, Triceratops have become an invaluable working animal. Used as mounts by the Reekian military to patrol the Vale of Thunder, Triceratops are one of the most feared species in the world. Though everyone knows the fierce beast won’t eat them, they also know that a Triceratops won’t hesitate to gore an intruder with one of its three horns—if given the command by its rider, of course.

 

Basic Information

Anatomy

Triceratops is characterized by the three horns which give it its name; a bony neck frill used in combat and courtship; and a thick, four-legged body.

 

It has a tail, too. I suppose that’s important. If, like, you care about tails or whatever. I mean, it’s no Ankylosaurus—but you can’t have all the cool dinosaur things all in one dinosaur, right? Otherwise, how would Hasbro have sold us all those different kinds of Dinobots when we were kids?

Genetics and Reproduction

According to Smithsonian Magazine, “Dinosaur sex must have followed the ‘Insert Tab A into Slot B’ game plan carried on by their modern-day descendants and cousins” such as male birds and crocodiles, who “have a penis that emerges…to deliver sperm.” But, as Smithsonian writer Riley Black goes on to say, “beyond the likely basic anatomy, things get a bit tricky.”

 

That said, in the case of Eden’s Triceratops, Reekian scientists have—like their fictional counterparts from Jurassic Park—taken all of that trickiness out of the equation. As part of their domestication program, they have genetically engineered all of their Triceratops mounts to be female—so that all reproduction happens within the safe and comfortable confines of Reekian labs.

 

Except for that one girl who got loose from her pen and then got loose with the lizards out there in the wilds of the valley. But representatives of the Reek try to keep that incident on the down-low, if you know what I mean.

Additional Information

Domestication

As with most of Eden’s other extant dinosaur species, the bulk of Triceratops individuals were left to their own devices within the Vale of Thunder. But Reekian scientists, using genetic material gathered from 50 individuals, created a first generation of clones to begin the domestication process. Their goal? To create a subspecies which they could use as mounts to patrol the edges of the Vale, all in the name of keeping the dinosaurs in and everything else out.

Scientific Name
Triceratops prorsus
Origin/Ancestry
Earth
Average Height
9.5–9.8 ft
Average Weight
6.7–13.2 tons
Average Length
26–30 ft
Geographic Distribution
Related Materials

Comments

Author's Notes

What was your favorite kind of dinosaur when you were growing up? And is that the kind you’d ride into battle if given the chance, or would you pick another species?


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Jul 3, 2021 08:14 by TC

Dinosaur mounts, dinosaur mounts!!! Hell yeah I love them :D as always I love the lightness and humour of your work, fun read

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Jul 3, 2021 13:42 by E. Christopher Clark

Thanks! I'm definitely leaning into the humour a bit more, after the wonderful response to the Armor of Apathy article. I have a lot of friends who are far funnier than me, so I've always been a bit unsure of whether I'm funny or not. So it's been great to get acknowledgement that I can make people chuckle.

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Jul 4, 2021 16:15 by Avalon Arcana

This is amazing, I love the little Jurrasic park easter egg. :)

You should check out the The 5 Shudake, if you want of course.
Jul 4, 2021 16:21 by E. Christopher Clark

Thank you! I love me some Easter Eggs!   P.S. It looks like your comment posted twice. Do you mind if I delete the extra one?

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Jul 4, 2021 16:42 by Avalon Arcana

Oops, sorry about that. I think I just deleted it but if it still shows go right on ahead.

You should check out the The 5 Shudake, if you want of course.
Jul 4, 2021 16:51 by E. Christopher Clark

No worries. It's gone now. Thanks! And thanks again for the comment!

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Jul 6, 2021 18:32 by Amélie I. S. Debruyne

Great article! Domesticate dinosaur mounts are SO cool!!! I love the tone of the article and the references to Jurassik park and Hasbro :p

To see what I am up to: my Summer Camp 2024.
Jul 6, 2021 20:11 by E. Christopher Clark

Thanks so much! I’m having a lot of fun leaning into this tone. It’s causing me a bit of trouble with one of the prompts, where I think I’m trying too hard to be funny, but we’ll see how that goes.

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Jul 7, 2021 23:45 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Hehehehe, got 'loose'. XD I love the humorous tone of this article, as well as all the interesting little bits of information. I love the idea of a triceratops as a mount! :D   I always like plesiosaurus when I was younger. There was (and still is) a giant triceratops model at a place near me that lowers its head and snorts, and I was always *terrified* of it. I had to run past it because I thought it would charge. XD

Emy x
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Jul 8, 2021 13:03 by E. Christopher Clark

That giant triceratops model — I can totally see why you'd be freaked out by that. I forget what made me love the triceratops so much, but I'm sure I would've felt way different if I had to go by that statue!   I had to Google plesiosaurus to remind myself which one it was (some dinosaur fan I am!) and I can totally see riding on one of those too, especially if you could breathe underwater.

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Jul 8, 2021 14:58 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Much cooler than dolphins! :D

Emy x
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Jul 13, 2021 13:27 by AS Lindsey (Pan)

“But you can’t have all the cool dinosaur things all in one dinosaur, right?” - what? Damn.   My favourite has always been—funnily enough—the ankylosaurus, and yeah I reckon that’d be a decent battle-dino!   Great article :)

Jul 19, 2021 20:36 by E. Christopher Clark

Yes for the ankylosaurus! That one was always a close second for me, after triceratops. I always loved that tail!

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