三角恐龙牙齿的复杂性

When it comes to the three-horned dinosaur called the Triceratops, science is showing the ancient creatures might have been a little more complex than we thought. In fact, their teeth were far more intricate than any reptile or mammal living today. 

Biological Science Professor Gregory Erickson and a multiuniversity team composed of engineers and paleontologists content that the Triceratops developed teeth that could finely slice through dense material giving them a richer and more varied diet than modern-day reptiles. 

Erickson and the team outlined the findings of their study in the journal Science Advances. 

Today, reptilian teeth are constructed in such a way that they are used mostly for seizing food -- whether plant or animal -- and then crushing it. The teeth do not occlude -- or come together -- like those of mammals. In essence they can't chew. The teeth of most herbivorous mammals self wear with use to create complex file surfaces for mincing plants. 

"It's just been assumed that dinosaurs didn't do things like mammals, but in some ways, they're actually more complex," Erickson said. 

Erickson, who has been studying the evolution of dinosaurs for years, became interested in looking at dinosaurs' teeth several years ago and suspected that they had some unique properties. But, the technology to really discover what they were capable of did not exist.