Thread by @travisdon1981

Did #Torosaurus use its horns for #defense?

Um, #YES, and here is why.

Triceratops is my favorite dinosaur of all time. The no-nonsense, T-Rex-killing, three-horned wonder was my hero as a little kid. My like for triceratops is one of the reasons I was interested in the ceratopsian dinosaurs, of which triceratops is one. From the formidable

Styracosaurus to Protoceratops, whose fossils inspired the myth of the Griffin, these dinosaurs are among the most interesting to study, triceratops being the most interesting. Indeed, out of all of the ceratopsians, only a few could rival triceratops in size.

One of these was Torosaurus.

At 26 feet long, Torosaurus was only slightly shorter than Triceratops. However, it made up for this with a larger skull (8.5 feet long). Its frill was not as durable as that of Triceratops (with two huge holes in it), but it is believed that Torosaurus could increase its blood

flow to the skin covering the holes on its frill, which could make the skin change colors. This display could potentially serve to intimidate other Torosaurus, as well as a way for male Torosaurus to flirt with females. It didn’t have the maneuverability and flexibility of head

movement that a Triceratops did (indeed, no other animal, let along ceratopsian, had the range of flexibility and maneuverability of head movement that a triceratops did), but with its crest raised up and a color display going through it, the animal would have looked terrifying,

even more so when you consider those nasty looking horns.

But were those horns used in defense?

Even as a kid, I could take a look at the animal and say “Duh! Yes!”. Indeed, I think most people would.
But it seems that at least some paleontologists seem to think otherwise.

The following is taken from the book “The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life” by Tim Haines and Paul Chambers (Excellent book, I highly recommend it), page 138:

“It used to be thought that Torosaurus defended itself against predators using its gigantic crested skull and

protruding horns. However, the skull’s crest had two large, skin-covered holes in it that would have been easily damaged. Instead of defending itself with its horns, Torosaurus probably got most of its protection from its gigantic size and from living together in herds.”
On the

same page, there is a picture of two male Torosaurs fighting, with their horns locked. Below this image, it states:

“Given the fragility of Torosaurus’s horns, mating battles would have been more about bravado and posturing than trying to inflict serious damage.”
On the next

page, it states:

“Evenly matched male Torosaurus would probably have fought each other, charging and interlocking horns until one submitted. The horns were fragile, and would have easily chipped in battle.”

This fragility was displayed in the Documentary series “Walking with

Dinosaurs” (where the artwork for Torosaurus in the book came from. Tim Haines was also the documentary series’ creator and director). In the last episode, titled “Death of a Dynasty”, an old male torosaurus’s horn broke off during a fight. The following is a clip from that

series showing the painful moment:

So, it seems like Torosaurus never used its horns for defense. Case closed, right?

Not quite.

1. If a Torosaurus used its horns to fight others of its kind, why wouldn’t they have used them to fight other species of animals too?

Funny thing about weapons; you can use them for a variety of opponents. I have several staffs at home, and I’ll now and again take one to walk with. If some dude attacks me on the street, I can use any of my staffs to defend myself. This would be no different if I was walking

with a staff and a pitbull attacked me. I have a kendo stick that’s even more damaging in this regard, and it would work on both human and canine adversaries. Likewise bears use their teeth and claws on each other as well as on both prey and other predators. Tigers have been

known to hunt bear cubs and on (very) rare occasions even adults, and bears can successfully defend themselves through brute force. Horses use their hooves on each other as well as on predators.

Why would Torosaurus be any different?

2. Not all predators would have seriously damaged their crests.

Dakotaraptor (16 feet long, 440 pounds) would not have posed a serious breaking hazard to a Torosaurs’s frill, though in a pack they could have posed a danger to a Torosaurus’ life. This would be even more the case

for young Torosaurus, including newborns. Likewise, Acheroraptor (88 pounds, 10 feet long) would pose a serious risk to very young Torosaurus and eggs. They wouldn’t, however, have posed a risk to an adult Torosaurus’ crest. Thus, Torosaurus could defend itself well from either

dinosaur without having to worry about its crest getting damaged.

3. Torosaurus made up for its thin crest with intimidation.

On average, Torosaurus had skulls over eight feet long. With it tilted up, it made the animal look even bigger than it actually was. This is a trick we

see in nature all the time, from puffer fish sucking in water and expanding to frilled lizards extending their frills, all of these are done to frighten off threats, and not just from their own species. Even elephants do this trick, sticking their ears out to make themselves

look bigger.
Why wouldn’t a Torosaurus’ tall frill be used in the same way??

And combine this with a coloring display, with extra blood flow going through the frill skin.

Potentially even more terrifying…

4. Just because the horns were “fragile” doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have been of use in combat.

We have to remember that “fragile” is a relative term. Though probably not as tough as Triceratops horn (which could take 36,000 pounds of force), even paleontologists admit that

Torosaurus probably used their horns in mating battles. Those horns can’t be too fragile, considering that they are mounted to elephant-sized dinosaurs! Nevertheless, they could easily chip in battle, and there was the danger of breakage.

So, does this disqualify them as defensive weapons?

Well, if that’s the case…then it also disqualifies saber teeth as predatory weapons!

Smilodon, aka the legendary Sabertoothed cat, was arguably the most terrifying big cat to ever live. At 6 and a half feet long, 4 feet tall at the shoulders and weighing 740-840 pounds, they were bigger than Siberian Tigers. Though not the largest big cat that ever lived, it was

the most powerful. Compared to other big cats it had a very beefy build. Its body was designed like that of a bear in some ways, and bears are pound for pound stronger than big cats. One way these cats would have hunted is to tackle prey to the ground, slash the neck and then run

off, waiting for it to bleed to death.

However, evidence shows that they hunted in packs, so most of the time multiple Smilodon would bring prey down together, holding it so that one of them could sing its fangs into the neck.

Pretty impressive animal.
What’s even more

impressive is that it could kill these animals without snapping its fangs.

You see, saber-toothed fangs are very...fragile.

“The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life” also has a section on Smilodon. On page 188 it states:

“When their prey was exhausted the Smilodon would move in and use their 21-cm (8.5 inch) saber-teeth to kill it. However, AS THESE TEETH WERE EASILY BROKEN, they did not use them to rip or sab at a struggling body. Instead, they probably wrestled the prey to the ground with their

powerful forelimbs, then clamped the sabers around their prey’s windpipe. They would then use their powerful jaw muscles to strangle it to death or rip out its throat.
‘Having such long teeth meant that Smilodon could not risk biting on to bone, AS THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY SNAP A

TOOTH (some fossils do have broken teeth).”

(Emphasis mine)

Later, in a section placed under the skull of a Smilodon, it states:
“The saber teeth of Smilodon WERE FRAGILE and could only be used on the soft part of their prey’s body.”
(Emphasis mine).

So, if a Torosaurus’s

horns were fragile, and thus wouldn’t be used to defend itself…how could a saber-toothed cat use its fangs as a killing weapon if they were fragile?

Keep in mind, mammalian predators will use their killing weapons far more often than prey animals will use their defensive weapons. A Smilodon’s saber teeth were going to be used far more often than the horns of Torosaurus, whether the latter used its horns for defense or not.

Also keep in mind that those saber teeth would have been far less effective in fights (both between sabertooths as well as between sabertooths and other species) than a Torosaurus’ horns were. A Smilodon’s fangs could be broken by a paw swipe, and could break if they raked

another animal’s face, hitting the bone. Only when its opponent was on the ground could it use those fangs on the throat. Torosaurus, meanwhile, is believed by paleontologists to have used their horns in mating battles at least. Those horns wouldn’t snap if they touched bone.

If a Sabertooth could pull off kill after impressive kill with fragile weapons, why can’t Torosaurus defend itself with fragile weapons??

The answer is; THEY BOTH used their fragile weapons, and used them effectively. If its not a problem for Smilodon, how can it be a problem for good old Torosaurus?

My intention here is not to bash “The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life” or its authors (The book is fantastic, go

get it!). Instead, my intention is to show that we should examine science and see where the evidence logically goes.

The evidence, when carefully examined, shows that Torosaurus did use its horns and even its frill for defense, the latter a psychological weapon. Defense wasn’t

their primary function (mating signals and species recognition were), but they would have made for great makeshift weaponry against potential opponents.

Sources:

“The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life” by Tim Haines and Paul Chambers, 138-39, 188-89.
“Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth” (DK Book, numerous editors and authors), 435.
“Land of Lost Monsters” by Ted Oakes, 147.

“Smithsonian Institution: Animal” by David Burnie and Don E. Wilson, 213
“Bears” by Ian Sterling, page 52.
animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/s…
stlzoo.org/animals/aboutt…
“Walking With Dinosaurs” documentary series, episode “Death of a Dynasty”
“Walking with Prehistoric Beasts” documentary

series, episode “Sabre Tooth”
“Prehistoric Hunters: Sabertooth Cat” documentary (also called “prehistoric Predators)

animals.net/frilled-lizard/
reptilepark.com.au/animals/reptil…
“Deadly Fish” by Shane McFee, 16
google.com/books/edition/…

“Rationality: Constraints and Contexts”, by Tzu-Wei Hung and Timothy Joseph Lane (Editors, 112
google.com/books/edition/…
“Clash of the Dinosaurs” Documentary series. “The Defenders” episode.
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