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? asked in Science & MathematicsZoology · 1 month ago

Could Triceratops be gray in color in the real world if they were alive today since larger reptiles & land mammals are mostly dull in color?

Based on the appearances of tortoises, rhinoceros iguanas, elephants and rhinoceros while the dinosaur doesn't look much birdlike esp by the legs.

7 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 month ago

    Sure.   They may have been gray.  They may have been covered with colorful feathers but that seems unlikely for a large terrestrial animal.  We don't have definitive evidence but based on the reason you provided, it seems dull and "grey" is likely.  If you look at the ancestor of Tricerops, Archaeocerotops looks a lot like a bird.  Maybe they had genetic pressure to look colorful like a bird but that would be hazardous with predators trying to eat them. 

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  • Anonymous
    1 month ago

    No one knows what color they were

  • D g
    Lv 7
    1 month ago

    Color is used to attract and to warn others 

    a bright  colored animal like a poisonous frog  will be dangerous to eat so it is able to say  SEE ME  you  don't want to try me..

  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 month ago

    Some land mammals have striping or spotting for partial camouflage.

    Try picturing your Triceratops striped like a tiger, or having a "jungle camo" pattern.

    We don't know at this date.  Mineral replacement of ... everything would tend to remove pigmentation.

  • Ray
    Lv 6
    1 month ago

    Triceratops had poor vision but a phenomenal sense of smell, and they could probably hear well. 

    This points to plain gray color, like a rhino. Rhinos also have poor vision. 

    Some other animals, like trex, had great eye sight but we have proof of interspecies fighting pointing to an animal that is more physical than display. So trex may have also had plain colors. 

  • User
    Lv 7
    1 month ago

    sure, it COULD be

    but

    consider other large herbivores living now

    not only grey ones (rhino, elephant)

    but also giraffe, zebra, etc.

    Also

    consider their closest-known relatives

    birds

    which even the larger species tend to have very colorful males.

    Even ostriches are striking - the black-and-white males

    (though the emus are much plainer...)

  • 1 month ago

    could be? yes, could be pink, green, any color.

    would they be? probably not, but we have no idea.

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