Triceratops (Earth-7045)

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago (mya) in what is now North America. It is one of the last known non-avian dinosaur genera.

Triceratops has been documented by numerous remains collected since the genus was first described in 1889 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Specimens representing life stages from hatchling to adult have been found. As the archetypal ceratopsid, Triceratops is one of the most popular dinosaurs, and has been featured in film, postal stamps, and many other types of media.

Bearing a large bony frill and three horns on the skull, and its large four-legged body possessing similarities with the modern rhinoceros, Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the best known ceratopsid. It was also one of the largest, up to nine metres long and twelve tonnes in weight. It shared the landscape with and was probably preyed upon by Tyrannosaurus, though it is less certain that the two did battle in the manner often depicted in museum displays and popular images. The functions of the frills and three distinctive facial horns on its head have long inspired debate. Traditionally, these have been viewed as defensive weapons against predators. More recent interpretations find it probable that these features were primarily used in species identification, courtship and dominance display, much like the antlers and horns of modern species.

Triceratops was traditionally placed within the "short-frilled" ceratopsids but modern cladistic studies show it to be a member of the Chasmosaurinae which usually have long frills. Two species, T. horridus and T. prorsus, are considered valid today, from the seventeen species that have ever been named. Research published in 2010 concluded that the contemporaneous Torosaurus, a ceratopsid long regarded as a separate genus, represents Triceratops in its mature form. This view was immediately disputed with examination of more fossil evidence needed to settle the debate.

History
The Triceratops were among the multiple dinosaur species domesticated by the Nuwali when they arrived on Earth, with some specimens frozen in suspended animation. Otherwise the history of the species prior to the Cenozoic Era is the same as its real world counterpart.

When the K-T Extinction Event was on the horizon, the Nuwali themselves went into cryogenic suspension in order to stave off the meteor collision. They eventually reawakened, along with the dinosaur specimens kept on ice - including Triceratops, during the Eocene epoch. The Nuwali relocated to the recently-formed continent of Antarctica, where they would terraform a section of the landmass in an artificial nature preserve that would be known in the present as the Savage Land. The Mesozoic animals were sustained as their individual species thanks to the Nuwali's genetic engineering technology. Cenozoic wildlife would also be introduced to this new ecosystem.

However, some time before 3,000,000 B.C., the Nuwali would leave Earth for reasons unknown. This forced the wildlife to fend for itself, causing evolution to finally resume its course and the more ancient animals like Triceratops to go extinct, their legacy continuing with their descendants.

This wouldn't be the last the universe would hear from the species, however. Multiple specimens of Triceratops were abducted via time travel by a cyborg alien race known as the Quintessons. This was at the behest of a scientist named Xeros, who was using time window technology to acquire samples of alien life for purposes of creating bioweapons, starting the project with Earth. The ship transporting this exotic cargo would soon wind up on an uninhabited planet in the distant past thanks to sabotage by one of the scientists, Extempaxia. A lost Cybertronian ship, the Hyperboria, would soon also crash on the planet, killing the crew, leaving the protoforms onboard to fend for themselves on the planet, find the ship, release the cargo, and assume new forms based on those creatures. This would lead to a colony of Cybertronians unknown to the universe at large, who dubbed the planet Animatron. Ultimately, the fate would befall Triceratops here as it did on Earth in the Savage Land.

Known Species

 * Triceratops horridus
 * Triceratops prorsus

Habitat
Habitat: Earth

Gravity: 9.80665 m/s

Atmosphere: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, remaining percentage other gases

Trivia

 * Triceratops would be taken as an alternate mode by at least three Transformers: Slug, Knockdown, and Guiledart. Meanwhile, Kakuryu would base his Pretender shell on the species (though the horns are arranged onto the nose in a row, like a rhino... because he's an idiot).