Ceratopsians
Styracosaurus.
Styracosaurus is a Ceratopsian Dinosaur meaning that it has a neck frill and horns on it's head and is therefore in the same group as the widely known Triceratops. Styracosaurus was first discovered in fossil form in 1913 in Alberta, Canada by Lawrence Lambe. Cureently there are two subspecies recognized, Styracosaurus Albertensis and S. Ovatus.
The largest and most impressive feature of Styracosaurus is it's massive head, which alone measured 6 feet long thanks to it's large 22 1/2 inch long frill spikes. Unlike many other Ceratopsian Dinosaurs Styracosaurus only had one horn on it's head, it's nasal horn, which measured about 20 inches. As with many other members of it's family, the use of it's horns are uncertain, though many suggest they were for defense and battling for mating rights.
While not the largest Ceratopsian it may be the most decorated due to its 6 large frill spikes, smaller spikes on the sides of its head and large nasal horn. One can only imagine how beautiful they may have been with skin pigmentation, although it is qually likely they were drab in color, without a living specimen we may never know the color of most if not any Dinosaurs.
There are some reports from Cameroon, Africa of a cryptid known as Ngoubou. This animal became known to Cryptozoology in 2000 when Bill Gibbons was in Cameroon gathering info on Mokele Mbembe. The natives told him about a creature known as Ngoubou. Though Ngoubou is also the natives' word for rhinoceros, they were very insistent that this creature was different than normal rhinos, namely because it had many more horns, 6 on its neck frill in one detailed account. Bill identified the Ngoubou with the Styracosaurus. Until one is documented however we can only speculate as to if Ngoubou's are living Styracosaurus' and what a living one looks like and how the behave.
Triceratops.
Triceratops was a large herbivorous Ceratopsian dinosaur, meaning it had a frill on it's head, a beaked mouth, Ornithiscian (bird-like) hips, and an elephant-like stature. It is probably the most famous of all Ceratopsian dinosaurs as it is the most widely used and recognized species. It is largely characterized by the single horn on it's nose and the two larger horns on it's brow, leading to it's name which means "three horned face", along with the large bony frill coming off the back of the head. It is unclear if Ceratopsian dinosaurs actually battled with predators in the way depicted in many artful displays of dinosaurs, although it is safe to say it probably happened occassionally, but not daily.
The first fossil remains of Triceratops were discovered in 1887 and were a pair of horns attatched to a skull cap, since then many fossils have been found, including many complete skeletons making it one of the best known dinosaur fossils. Multiple age stages have also been found and it is now thought that Torosaurus, long considered a seperate Genus, is in reality the mature form of Triceratops. Since it's discovery, Triceratops has been dated by evolutionary researchers to have lived over 65 million years ago during the late Creataceous period, though this clearly contradicts the much shorter and more recent timeline recorded in the Bible
It is debated whether or not Triceratops use it's horns for defense from predators, although it is not fully known. Some scientists have suggested that they used them for courtship and dominance displays, however, it is likely that the horns were used for all, like many mammal species of animals with horns or antlers. At 30 feet long and almost 10 feet high, Triceratops was a large animal, bigger than an Elephant, yet built more like a reptilian version of a Water Buffalo. However if Torosaurus is actually the fully grown form, then the full size would be 30 feet long, a skull measuring 8.5 feet long with the large neck frill and may have weighed over 6 tons.
Based on Triceratops' anatomy, it is believed that it's diet consisted largely of low growing plant varieties, making it mainly a browser. It is believed that the beak of Triceratops was used to pluck and grasp food items more than actually biting, though it may have bitten foes during combat.
It is now thought that since Torosaurus is the fully grown representation of the species that the large "holes" or fenestrae in the frill grew to offset the weight of the skull that would otherwise be too much to bear for adults. Though several researchers have expressed disbelief in the theory that Torosaurus is actually Triceratops, so only time and more testing will tell.
While it may be used as an icon of evolution, Triceratops and it's relatives are certainly anything but, they exhibit the same design and ecological functioning as all other organisms and show no evidence of having come from or transitioned into another phyla of organism. These magnificent animals are certainly a trophy of God's creation just as all other creatures and should be used to remind us of the One who created them.
Protoceratops
Centrosaurus
Chasmosaurus
Pachyrhinosaurus
Einiosaurus
Achelosaurus
Albertaceratops
Brachyceratops