A skeleton of a massive Triceratops that died 67 million years ago is among the most intact fossils ever found. Dubbed "Horridus" after the species name (Triceratops horridus), the fossil, which is about 85% complete, made its public debut earlier this week at the Melbourne Museum in Australia, part of the new exhibition " Triceratops: Destiny of the Dinosaurs”.
According to a statement from the institution, Horridus was a herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period (about 145 million to 66 million years ago), and reached an impressive size. The fossil contains over 260 bones and weighs over 1 ton. It measures almost 7 m in length and is over 2 m in height.
The skull, which is 98% complete, is pointed with two thin horns on the forehead and a stubby horn on top of the nose. The neck frill measures 1,5 m, and the skull weighs about 261 kg.
As announced by the museum, the fossil was discovered on private land in the state of Montana in 2014, and Museums Victoria – the Australian organization that operates three state museums in Melbourne – acquired the specimen in 2020.
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When Horridus arrived in Melbourne, his pieces were distributed in eight boxes - some the size of cars, according to museum representatives. Fossil preparers measured, labeled and 3D scanned each bone before the skeleton was assembled for display.
Horridus is one of the only fossil mounted skeletons from a single specimen
"While many articulated Triceratops skeletons are displayed around the world, only Horridus and a few others are made from bones that came from a single animal," said Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Museums Victoria. "This fossil contains hundreds of bones, including a complete skull and entire vertebral column, which will help us unlock mysteries about how this species lived 67 million years ago."
In the exhibit, Horridus is in a chamber with projections illuminating his bones. Scientists can't say for sure whether Horridus was male or female, but its nearly complete skeleton could teach a lot about Triceratops' evolution, biology and behavior, according to Fitzgerald.
“Being permanently housed at the Melbourne Museum means this remarkable fossil will be accessible to science for generations to come,” he said. An interactive 3D digital model of Horridus is available for viewing on the museum's website.
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