Meet the armoured and the frilled dinosaurs
These groups of herbivorous dinosaurs developed armour for defence and frills for display.
The armour plating was made of bone knobs and plates embedded in the skin. Some of these were wide and flat, other were small, round nodules. Armoured dinosaurs evolved at the time of the giant predators, such as Tarbosaurus.
The bony head crest of some dinosaurs may have been used for defence, but palaeontologists think that their main function was to impress and attract other dinosaurs of the same species.
Talarurus – a tank with a terrible tail
Tal-uh-roor-us
Talarurus plicatospineus
Cast from fossil discovered in Mongolia
This short-legged, herbivorous dinosaur was not a fast runner. But predators would be met with a difficult task if they tried to attack it. Not only was Talarurus built like a tank, with armour-plated skin and a bony head, but it also had a wicked club tail to deliver a crippling blow.
Protoceratops – with frills and family
Pro-toe-ser-a-tops
Protoceratops andrewsi
Cast from fossil discovered in Mongolia
These herbivorous dinosaurs lived in herds. Many fossils of adults and babies have been found in the same place, suggesting that the species formed breeding colonies.
Their bony heads have a neck frill, which may have been important in social interactions such as winning a mate.