TriceratopsThe three-horned dinosaur Triceratops--which is familiar to millions of kids in plastic toy form--has the dubious distinction of being one of the last of its breed, the ceratopsians, to appear before the K/T Extinction that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the earth. Even still, Triceratops was only the last of a long line of ceratopsian dinosaurs stretching back to the early Cretaceous period, when these ornithischians were the size of small dogs! As fearsome as it looked, Triceratops was a strict vegetarian. Scientists think this dinosaur's distinctive horns may have evolved for two reasons: either for use as mating displays (i.e., Triceratops males with bigger, sharper horns were able to mate with more females), and/or as a form of defense against the larger predators of the late Cretaceous period, like Tyrannosaurus Rex A recent study has shown that many of the contusions on fossilized Triceratops bones were caused by Triceratops horns, which implies a role for intra-species combat as well (i.e., the horns were used to defend territory or establish dominance within the herd). One reason Triceratops is so well known is its large, bony skull, which fossilized fairly easily (and often in one piece)--a feature it shared in common with the other plus-sized ceratopsians of late Cretaceous Eurasia and North America. For this reason, complete Triceratops skulls have become prized items at auctions worldwide, fetching millions of dollars from wealthy bidders and natural history museums.
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White's Woods is a 250 acre parcel of mature forest located along N. 12th St. in Indiana, Pa. It lays next to the 270 acre IUP Co-Op Park. Together, the two combine for over 12 miles of interconnecting hiking and mountain biking trails. All the caches I've placed here are near (within 100ft) of a trail, so only minimal bushwhacking is required. This is pretty open, mature forest though and, if you do bushwhack, it should still be relatively easy going. The trails range from gas well roads to primitive foot trails and the terrain varies from slightly hilly to rocky and steep.