Most Complete, Well Preserved Triceratops Named ‘Horridus’ Set to Go on Display at Melbourne Museum

Other than T-rex, Velociraptors, and Brachiosaurus, there's a dinosaur species that receive the same notoriety - Triceratops. Kids and adults recognize the iconic skull structure of triceratops and their frequent appearance in popular culture. Today, the most complete and well-preserved Triceratops specimen is set to display at the Melbourne Museum for the first time.

Triceratops Fossil Makes Debut in Melbourne Museum

Horridus, derived from its species epithet, Triceratops horridus, standing at 6.6 ft tall, six to seven meters long, weighing over a ton, is the most complete and well-preserved triceratops specimen to date. Today, for the first time, it's set to be the centerpiece in the newest exhibit at the Melbourne Museum, Australia: Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs.

Thanks to their large bones, especially their uniquely recognizable skull, Triceratops are the most commonly found dinosaur fossils. Despite all this, Horridus stands out as an internationally significant specimen- with a total of 266 bones, equal to 85% of the animal's total skeleton. Horridus' unprecedented completeness reveals new details regarding one of the most recognizable and well-studied dinosaurs.

Collection Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Melbourne Museum, Tim Ziegler, tells New Atlas that Horridus uniquely preserves various animal parts that typically don't survive well in fossil records. He adds that they have precious specimens such as the Triceratops' entire tail for the first time in this case.

When researchers cracked open the rock surrounding the animal's foot, they stumbled upon a hexagonal pattern in sediment around its toes. Upon closer inspection, they found the fossilized remains of the animal's skin. Ziegler explains that rather than impressions left behind by prints, it is the last traces of soft tissues of the triceratops. Stating that its organic remains beneath the animal's last finger.

Because Horridus remained largely undistorted by temperatures and pressures of fossilization, the team accurately made a cranial endocast - a 3D model of the animal's cranium. The size and shape of Horridus' brain were determined; like most reptiles, it was cylindrical, along with its inner ear.

Horridus is set to make its debut at the Melbourne Museum on March 12, 2022.

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Meet Horridus the Triceratops

Horridus lived roughly 67 million years in the past in what is now known as Montana, USA. Rather than the badlands that the region is today, during the Cretaceous Era, it was a lush swampy forest, an environment that played a vital role in the pristine preservation of Horridus.

Ziegler explains that Horridus was preserved in an ancient river channel, now part of Hell Creek in the Late Cretaceous. He adds that the channel is daily quiet most of the time. However, what the team saw surrounding the specimen in situ was a massive sand body. It was indicative of pulses of water and sediment that covered the animal relatively soon after its death, certainly before predators scavenged it.

During Horridus extraction, the team examined the site using photogrammetry, a 3D model process involving photos of different excavation stages. Using this, researchers determined that Horridus dies in a natural, resting pose.