Natural History, including Gorgosaurus
Natural History, including Gorgosaurus
Triceratops Brow Horn
Auction Closed
July 28, 03:27 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Triceratops Brow Horn
Triceratops horridus
Late Cretaceous (approx. 67 million years ago)
Lance Creek Formation, Weston County, Wyoming
21 by 10½ by 6½ inches (53.3 x 26.7 x 16.5 cm). 21 inches (53.3 cm) tall on custom stand. 29 pounds (13.2 kg).
Complete and robust supraorbital brow horn from an adult individual, preserved in good condition exhibiting the natural surface detail of the bone. The shaft shows clearly the numerous deep branching grooves and pits (nutrient canals and foramina), which in life supplied blood to outer horn sheath. The horn core shows no distortion or erosion. Mounted on a custom-made metal display stand.
The herbivorous Triceratops (aka "three-horned face") is undoubtedly one of the world's best-known and most popular dinosaurs, due in great part to their distinctive bony frills, keratinous beaks, and three-horned skulls. Fearsome in appearance, their horns were long-considered to serve a primarily defensive function, though recent speculation suggests that the horns were more likely used in intraspecific courtship and/or dominance displays.
Whether for fighting or for flirting, this beautiful specimen is a fundamental piece of one of the most iconic dinosaurs of all time.