Three Triceratops Skeletons Unearthed in Wyoming: Family of Dinosaurs Killed by Tyrannosaurus

Paleontologists have uncovered not one, not two but three triceratops skeletons at a ranch in Wyoming. The family of skeletons don't only show researchers a little bit more about these massive animals, though. One of the specimens is one of the most complete skeletons of a triceratops ever found.

The three-horned triceratops was part of one of the last groups of dinosaurs to evolve. With its bony frill and large size, this plant-eater shared the landscape with the Tyrannosaurus rex and other Late Cretaceous dinosaurs about 67 million years ago. Existing in what is now North America, the Triceratops has been documented in numerous remains collected since it was first described in 1889, according to BBC News.

These latest finds, though, reveal some unprecedented details about the animals. The largest and most mature specimen is also the most complete. Yet there is also a medium-sized specimen and a much smaller one that was probably a juvenile.

"The fact that there are three of them together is really cool," said Peter Larson, one of the paleontologists, in an interview with CNN.com. The three Triceratops could potentially be a male and a female and their young, or two females that were looking after a juvenile dinosaur. Before this particular dig, there was no evidence that Triceratops moved together in groups.

While it's interesting that the dinosaurs were found together, there are also other clues that are fascinating to the researchers. It's very likely that the site where they were found was actually a T. rex feeding ground. The skeletons bear markings of being devoured, and researchers actually were able to find T. rex bones in the area, according to Billings Gazette.  More specifically, the largest of the triceratops had at least two of its major limb bones bitten through.

"If you can imagine, this is a bone that is nearly four feet long," said Larson in an interview with CNN.com. But a T. rex "would kind of chop the carcass up with their giant, shearing jaws."

The findings are huge for paleontologists, who plan to continue their excavations and exploring the site. They hope that once they completely uncover the skeletons, they'll have specimens that can reveal new clues about this species of dinosaurs.