For decades, triceratops And their relatives lived only on bones. Now, Japanese paleontologists have mapped the soft tissue anatomy of these horned dinosaurs, revealing unexpected structures that may explain how they regulate their body temperature and breathe.
Ceratopsians (Ceratopsia), including the iconic dinosaurs triceratopswas one of the most diverse and successful dinosaur groups of the Late Cretaceous.
Their skulls rank among the most elaborate ever created by vertebrate evolution, combining a beak, various horns and frills, an extended snout area, and a densely packed tooth row designed for processing tough plants.
Scientists have long focused on the function of their cranial structures, particularly their horns, beaks, and frills, as these distinctive features likely underpin this group’s ecological dominance on land.
In contrast, the biological significance of their nasal region enlargement remains largely unexplored.
“I have been researching the evolution of reptile heads and noses since I was a master’s student,” said Dr. Seishiro Tada, a paleontologist at the University of Tokyo Museum.
“triceratops In particular, it had a very large and unusual nose, and although I could remember the basic reptilian pattern, I couldn’t understand how the organs fit inside it. ”
“That sparked my interest in nasal anatomy, its function and evolution.”
In the new study, Dr. Tada and his colleagues examined several cranial specimens. triceratops.
“Using CT scan data based on X-rays, triceratopssimilar to our knowledge of modern reptilian snout morphology, we discovered several unique features in the snout and provided the first comprehensive hypothesis about the soft tissue anatomy of horned dinosaurs,” said Dr. Tada.
“triceratops Their noses had abnormal “wiring”. In most reptiles, nerves and blood vessels run from the jaw and nose to the nostrils. but, triceratopsThe shape of the skull obstructs the route of the jaw, so nerves and blood vessels pass through the nasal branches. ”
“Essentially, triceratops The tissue evolved in this way to support that large nose. I noticed this while piecing together 3D printed items. triceratops Skull pieces like a puzzle. ”
The researchers also identified special structures such as: triceratopsThe nose, known as a respiratory turbinate, is an anatomical feature little known in other dinosaurs but common in birds and mammals that are descendants of living dinosaurs.
These thin, curled nasal surfaces increase the contact area between air and blood and help regulate body temperature through heat exchange.
triceratops Although it probably wasn’t a completely warm-blooded animal, scientists think these structures helped control temperature and humidity levels, since its otherwise large skull would have a hard time cooling down.
“I’m not 100% sure, but triceratops “Although there is no evidence that most other dinosaurs had respiratory turbinates, some birds have attachment bases (ridges) of respiratory turbinates, and horned dinosaurs also have similar ridges in the same position on their noses,” Dr. Tada said.
“That’s why we conclude that they have respiratory turbinates just like birds.”
“Horned dinosaurs were the last group to have soft tissue in the head that we studied, so our study fills in the final piece of the dinosaur-shaped puzzle.”
“Next, we want to address questions about the anatomy and function of other areas of the skull, such as the characteristic frill.”
team’s paper Published in a magazine anatomical records.
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Seishiro Tada others. soft tissue anatomy of the nose triceratops and other horned dinosaurs. anatomical recordspublished online on February 7, 2026. doi: 10.1002/ar.70150