Temper-Ceratops

"Never have we seen such a creature
It is mighty, even in death."

Potential's monumental when it comes to hip-hop
Makin' a terror stop is like holdin' back a triceratops

— The Prunes, Rockin' the Mic

The Ceratopsians are a specific suborder of dinosaurs from the Marginocephalia clade that first emerged during the Late Jurassic and spread across North America and Eurasia during the Cretaceous, becoming the most abundant group of armoured herbivores nearing the end of the Age of Dinosaurs.

Like their close relatives, the Pachycephalosauria, ceratopsians are herbivores with a very striking appearance. In their case, frills behind their skulls and a select series of horns on their brows and nose. Naturally, the closest living animals we can liken to the Ceratopsids are the bull and the rhinoceros.

Because of the similarities we see between them and modern bulls and rhinos, ceratopsians are often depicted as among the more aggressive and territorial of the numerous herbivorous dinosaurs that are shown in fictional media. More often than not, they will be seen in herds, yet it's also common to see individuals duke it out against one another either for mates or for territorial lands. Additionally, ceratopsians will also make an offensive stand towards neighbouring predators.

Because our perception of ceratopsians is very limited and heavily inspired by bulls and rhinos, this can be seen as an example of Artistic License – Paleontology, though there is also some evidence that this is Truth in Television, such as fossils of broken horns, likely a sign of a ceratopsian having lost it in a battle against rival or a predator, and some fossils show damage to the heads and frills that could potentially have come from the horns of another member of their species.

The Trope Codifier is Triceratops, which is the best-known member of the ceratopsians and one of the most notable stock dinosaurs. It became popular through a series of combinations like its appearance in The Lost World and for being depicted as a rival to the Tyrannosaurus rex, since they lived in the same time period and location. The second most common Stock Dinosaur of this kind is Styracosaurus, for having some film roles and a very distinctive look, though Pachyrhinosaurus and Protoceratops have become a little more notable over time, partly thanks to the bizarre look of the former and the latter for being the find that confirmed that dinosaurs laid eggs, and its famous fossilization in a duel against a Velociraptor.

Compare Rhino Rampage, Cruel Elephant and Brutish Bulls, for modern-day animals whose popular portrayals closely resemble (and often influence) those of ceratopsian dinosaurs. Also compare Tough Armored Dinosaur and Headbutting Pachy for other cases of herbivorous dinosaurs being often portrayed as aggressive and dangerous. Contrast Gentle Giant Sauropod and Social Ornithopod, which are examples of a specific group of dinosaurs being socially docile and approachable. One common form of Xenophobic Herbivore.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Baki the Grappler: One of Baki's signature fighting techniques is the Triceratops Fist which exceeds his 70 kilo weight to 100 kilos, and becomes strong enough to flip over a car.
• Brave Series:
  • Brave Exkaizer: The first enemy ever faced in the show prior to the Monster of the Week debuting was Horn Geist of the Space Pirate Geisters. A temperamental and aggressive brawler who focuses more on raw power and just smashing things, Horn Geist's alternate form is a robotic orange Triceratops. Fittingly, his character model is directly based on the Franchise/Transformers Dinobot Slag as a Mythology Gag, with the character sharing a similar temperament and Takara co-producing both the Brave Series and Transformers.
  • Downplayed with Horn Bomber from The Brave Express Might Gaine, as while he shares many similarities to Horn Geist, he is a heroic mecha and much more in control of his temper.
• Digimon Ghost Game: Gammamon is a Triceratops Digimon with ceratopsian evolutions. Despite normally being a Cheerful Child, he is far and away the most violent and aggressive of the "main" Digimon during battle. He even sometimes needs to be called off because Hiro prefers to show mercy to hostile Digimon. Then comes his Dark Digivolution into GulusGammamon when Bokomon dies via Heroic Sacrifice. Unlike past Dark Digivolutions, GulusGammamon is both intelligent and murderously malicious.
• Dinosaur King: Many of the episodes centre on the D-Team's attempts to stop the Alpha Gang from capturing more dinosaurs. Some of these episodes revolve on certain ceratopsians who become rattled under the slightest provocation by one of the two teams and would not allow themselves to be captured without a fight. Subverted with Max's Triceratops, Chomp, who is friendly and docile towards his friends and allies and only fights when he has to.
• Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (2006), the heroes get driven away by a Triceratops for getting too close to its herd. Later, the Triceratops are shown to be especially aggressive towards the dinosaur poachers, mainly due to being parents and their young, and they end up breaking free with the rest of the dinosaurs.
• Dragon Ball features dinosaurs in the series's setting. In a filler arc set after the battle against Kid Buu, Goku decides to look after a Pterosaur nest. He sees a Triceratops duking it out against a Ferocisaurus, not caring if the Pterosaur's eggs are caught in the battle. Goku is forced to intercept and take the squabble elsewhere.
• Gantz has the antagonistic aliens disguise themselves as upright-standing Triceratops in a museum for them to surprise-attack the protagonists.
• One Piece: One of Kaidou's elites, Sasaki, ate a Devil Fruit which allows him to transform into a huge Triceratops. Fittingly enough, his personal team is composed of Heavily Armored Mook SMILE ^note  artificial Devil Fruit users.
• Seton Academy: Join the Pack!: Mikado-sensei is a Triceratops teacher. He is mild-mannered for the most part... except when he threatens to gore Jin for being unreasonable.
• You Are Umasou: A Triceratops becomes aggressive and attacks Gonza's pack in an effort to defend itself, although it loses and is soon killed by Baku.

Comic Books

• Age of Reptiles: One section of The Journey storyline involves a baby Triceratops being reunited with its parents after being in danger by a Tyrannosaurus rex, only to be promptly scolded by the adults for putting itself in harm's way. Later on, a Triceratops and an Ankylosaurus get into a small squabble against one another after their infants are poisoned by eating mushrooms.
• Disney Ducks Comic Universe: In one story, "Escape from Forbidden Valley", the Ducks get their plane destroyed by a Triceratops mistaking the plane for a rival male trying to steal its mate (due to the plane's propellers looking like three horns).
• Flesh: Every single dinosaur in the storyline is depicted as feral, bloodthirsty monsters, and the Styracosaurus and Triceratops are no different, making them an exaggerated example.
• Jurassic League: Wonder Woman and the rest of the Amazons are reimagined as a tribe of warrior Triceratops.
• In the Transformers comics by IDW Publishing, Slag/Slug, was a fighter from the very beginning, even taking over the Dinobots following a disagreement with Grimlock. He eventually came to realize if the Cybertronian race was to be at peace, he and other battle-oriented robots had to go, and so died fighting against Bludgeon when Unicron attacked Earth.
• Xenozoic Tales: "Mack" is the general term used to describe the living ceratopsians which include Triceratops and Styracosaurus. Although they are herd animals, they are noted to be startled and prone to rampaging if threatened.

Documentaries

• Adventures Of Ceratops features this quite a bit, since they're the focus. In particular is aconfrontation between a herd of Sinoceratops and Zhuchengtyrannus, as well as a one on one fight between a T. rex and Triceratops.^note The documentary uses footage of this to represent a fight between Triceratops and the likely invalid Nanotyrannus, which is likely just a juvenile T. rex and should thous have a more gracile frame and head.
• Dinosaur Planet:
  • In "Little Das' Hunt", the titular Daspletosaurus and his family back away from a herd of Einiosaurus, who upon noticing the tyrannosaurs's presence, immediately form a wall together for protection and to drive them off. Incidentally, this also allows the Maiasaura siblings, Buck and Blaze to make a getaway.
  • The Protoceratops in "White Tip's Journey" are also shown to be quite aggressive, with the titular raptor's mate, Blue Brow, getting locked in an ultimately fatal battle with one towards the end. ^note When the dune slips onto them, it is implied that their remains are immortalized in the famous "Fighting Dinosaurs"◊ specimen discovered in 1971.
• The Dinosaurs features an animated sequence of an aggressive Triceratops (implied to be male) attacking a family of T. rex. ^note Though the mother is implied to be about to hunt its herd, so you can't blame it. Things don't end well for it.
• Prehistoric Planet:
  • "Freshwater" has a sequence involving an old male T. rex who has brought down a Triceratops during an offscreen Behemoth Battle, but has sustained a few potentially-serious wounds, implying that the Triceratops was indeed pretty tough. The segment focuses on the T. rex's attempts to wash out his wounds to avoid infection, hence the freshwater of the title.
  • "Forests" averts the trope completely, instead focusing on a herd of trikes venturing into a cave system in search of edible clay, to offset some poisonous plants that they ingested. A rather cute calf gets lost in the dark tunnels, but is able to find its way back to its family. The sequence emphasizes Triceratops' social bonds and herd structure, evoking the Honorable Elephant trope. Even the descent into the cave is based on real elephant behaviour.
  • "Ice Worlds" showcases Pachyrhinosaurus using their armored heads to spar with one another and to fend off a pack of Nanuqsaurus, giving us the familiar scene of the tough adult ceratopsians forming a circle around the young.
  • "North America" has male Triceratops sparring over females in a good old-fashioned Behemoth Battle. One young bull is turned down by a potential mate specifically because he doesn't have any tough-looking battle scars. After he loses a fight to an older and more established rival who is Covered in Scars, David Attenborough's narration points out that, although the mating season is over for the young male, his new rugged scars will improve his chances next year. The episode also ends with a "Prehistoric Planet: Uncovered" segment, Why Did Triceratops Have A Frill?, in which Attenborough and the paleontologists who worked on the episode break away from the mockumentary format and explain the science behind the episode, laying out why we believe Triceratops acted like this.
• The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs creates a simulated battle between a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Triceratops. The series also displays how a battle between two males occurs during a mating season would go and how a Trike would stand its ground against an attacking T. rex, showing the Triceratops as a territorial animal all around. In regards to pitting healthy adults of the two genera against one another, the series concludes that while T.rex could triumph in an ambush situation; Triceratops would more likely win in a head to head fight. The final battle has the Triceratops goring the Tyrannosaurus to death.
• Walking with Dinosaurs shows a herd of Torosaurus, with males fighting against one another in order to win the affection of females to mate with, and the loser has his horn permanently broken off. It's downplayed because the narrator notes how they usually try and avoid physical combat, and actual fights are infrequent.
• When Dinosaurs Roamed America:
  • The fourth segment shows two bull Zuniceratops savagely fighting for mating rights, with one (the leader of the herd) being injured in the process, and the herd drives off the band of "raptors" ^note which should properly be small tyrannosaurids of the genus Suskityrannus, which was unknown to science at the time after they attack immediately following the battle.
  • The fifth and final segment showcases a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex in a hunt. His appearance immediately alerts a Triceratops herd who promptly band together to drive the tyrannosaur away from them and their young.

Fan Works

• The Geeky Zoologist's reimagining of Jurassic World has two ceratopsian species with a significant appearence, Triceratops and Pachyrhinosaurus. Though they are herbivorous and seems relatively placid if undisturbed, they can be very dangerous if they are under agression or a state of panic.
  • The stampeding herd near the middle of The Edge of Chaos includes several Triceratops and those are responsible for the deaths of several grey guards and visitors. Earlier, some mounted grey guards avoids riding near them since they know that they can be temperamental, not unlike modern-day elephants.
  • In the beginning of The Fallen Kingdom, a group of Pachyrhinosaurus are one of the biggest threats during the Battle of Burroughs as they rampage through the city in their panic, trampling countless people on their way.
• Prehistoric Earth features at least three ceratopsians amongst the prehistoric animals rescued for the titular prehistoric zoo. All three of them display elements of this to varying degrees, with the Protoceratops rescued in Storm in the Desert proving rather aggressive and territorial against both the native predators as well as the rescue team members trying to get them through the portal while the Triceratops and Torosaurus in A Continent of Blight prove noticeably more stubborn and temperamental than any of the other native Cretaceous Hell Creek herbivorous dinosaurs rescued.
• Prehistoric Park Reimagined: Zigzagged, as the Triceratops and Torosaurus rescued in Tyrannosaurus rex-centric mission Return of the King are all shown to be running away in terror from the carnivores alongside the other native herbivorous Hell Creek dinosaurs instead of acting aggressive against them or the carnivores, but several of the juvenile Triceratops are shown to engage in playfights that lightheartedly fulfill the spirit of this trope. However, in a later chapter of the fic's spinoff Extras, the adult male Triceratops Topsy, plus one of his juvenile aged daughters, are shown in the narrative to at the very least be somewhat temperamental; and it is also stated that there is the possibility that the juveniles will start acting considerably aggressive when they hit puberty. Furthermore, various adult ceratopsians all prove themselves both willing and capable of behaving in aggressive and temperamental fashion against predators in later chapters.
• Prehistoric Park Returned From Extinction: Zigzagged, as while the park eventually contains about a dozen different ceratopsian species, most aren't portrayed as aggressive unless stressed out. Humorously, the only ones shown as being agressive without stressors is the relatively small Protoceratops, who attack keepers when they try to clean their exhibit. Keep in mind that the park's Velociraptors' and similarly sized carnivores never even come close to showing this much aggression toward keepers when their exhibits are cleaned.

Film — Animation

• Dinosaur Adventure has an aggressive ceratopsian randomly antagonising other dinosaurs. When a volcanic eruption destroys most plant life, he actually leads them to cannibalism, which takes this trope to a whole new level. His niece also looks like an otter for some reason.
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: While a herd of Triceratops does appear, they are only concerned with the safety of their own kind. One scene shows a young one excited by the presence of the Ice Age gang, only for the father to promptly tell him to catch up in a stern, gruff tone. The video game adaptation plays it straight by having Triceratops as obstacles or bosses.
• The Land Before Time:
  • Topps is one of the defining examples of a rather unsocial herbivore in fiction. A "Three-Horn" (or more accurately, a Triceratops), Topps firmly holds onto the belief that his kind is incompatible with hanging around and playing with other kinds of dinosaurs. His passes on this belief to his daughter, Cera, who initially doesn't get along with Littlefoot (a Longneck) at first. Like her father, Cera herself is bossy and temperamental, butting heads against the Gang of Five (and later Seven) whenever things don't go their (or her) way. Gradually, however, Topps and Cera do begin to move away from this mindset and become more accepting of the other dinosaurs. They're still prone to being bossy, though.
  • Not all Threehorns, however, share the same prejudiced view towards other dinosaurs as Topps and Cera (initially) do, with the latter's nephew and niece, Dina and Dana being rather playful, Tria, an old accomplice to Topps being outright friendly and her and Topps's daughter and Cera's half-sister, Tricia acting rather similar to Dina and Dana. The closest to a temperamental Threehorn is a Pachyrhinosaurus named Mr Thicknose, who at worst, comes off as a Stern Teacher.
• Speckles: The Tarbosaurus:
  • Torosaurus are shown to live in herds, although males would fight against one another during mating seasons. The title character takes advantage of this and kills the loser after he exhausts and separates himself from the herd.
  • Averted in the sequel, Dino King 3D: Journey to Fire Mountain, with Dusty (an infant Monoclonius) who is not only timid and scared but happens to become friends with a Tarbosaurus pair and a Carnotaurus.
• Toy Story: This is generally averted with Trixie the Triceratops due to her being a Nice Girl. However, Toy Story That Time Forgot demonstrates what happens when she's pushed too far.
• Walking with Dinosaurs features this a lot when its protagonists are a herd of Pachyrhinosaurus. Scowler in particular is a very bad-tempered bull.
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story: As with the other three captured dinosaurs, Woog the Triceratops was initially a hyper-aggressive beast before being converted into an anthropomorphic and tame pet via the Brain Grain.

Film — Live-Action

• Age of Dinosaurs features genetically altered dinosaurs escaping and wreaking Havok throughout a city. Among them are Triceratops and Einiosaurus, and none of them are in the mood of being placid, instead just rampaging around like the other dinosaurs.
• Jurassic Park:
  • Averted in Jurassic Park (1993), due to the lone Triceratops seen being very sick and thus quite docile. A deleted scene had the kids riding a baby Triceratops as well.
  • The Lost World: Jurassic Park shows a group of Triceratops, alongside other herbivorous dinosaurs, being hunted down by a group led by Roland Tembo. Once they're freed, one of the Trikes wastes no time in demolishing the hunters' camp before wandering off into the wild.
  • Averted by Jurassic World, the website of which lists Triceratops as having a "Low" aggression index. The juveniles are even docile enough to be ridden around by children as part of the park's petting zoo attraction.
    • A deleted scene would have featured a "Stegoceratops," a hybrid dinosaur of Triceratops and Stegosaurus, to show that Dr. Wu had been conducting hybrid experiments before the Indominus rex. It would have become aggressive towards Owen and Claire in defense of its young.
  • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom downplays this with the Sinoceratops, which is shown to be docile enough to lick Owen while he's unconscious, but fiercely fights off a Carnotaurus that attacks it. When all the dinosaurs are freed, both it and the Triceratops don't hesitate in trampling anyone in their path as they make their way into the wild.
  • Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock also downplays this as while the Nasutoceratops family are shown to be docile animals who look after one another, they can be very fierce and not above killing their opponent, who happens to be an Allosaurus that tries to attack the juvenile.
  • Jurassic World Dominion shows all the three aforementioned ceratopsids at their most aggressive since The Lost World, attacking and flipping over cars ^note albeit only because Claire startled them awake when she drove through their enclosure while trying to evade some armed ranchers . In addition, tie-in material for the film describes all three species as extremely dangerous to approach and/or agitate
• King Kong:
  • King Kong (1933) had a deleted scene that was meant to show a Styracosaurus that would attack the SS Venture Crew, even eating some of the unlucky ones. A script that never made it to the final cut also focused on a Triceratops that would impale a crew member after being startled by Kong.
    • A Styracosaurus does appear in The Son of Kong, where it notices the returning film crew and angrily attacks them and destroys one of their guns.
  • King Kong (2005): The extended version of the film features a Ferrucutus cerastes, a surviving ceratopsian in Skull Island that looks similar to the Pachyrhinosaurus, unprovoked attacking the crew members of the SS Venture before being bought down by Hayes.
    • The Ferrucutus is given further elaboration in the companion book, The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island. It is described to be a herd animal that is very territorial and fiercely defends its lands from predators. Males would often fight against one another for herd dominance and during mating seasons with these battles being brutal and bloody, it is not common to see the winner killing the loser.
• The Last Dinosaur: The Triceratops in the film seems to have a score to settle against the Tyrannosaurus rex, complete with biding its time for the T. rex to step by its lair, only for the Trike to strike. It also gets rattled by the presence of humans around.
• One Million Years B.C. features a Triceratops that chases the human characters around for no particular reason, before getting distracted by a Ceratosaurus, resulting in an epic Behemoth Battle.
• Planet of the Dinosaurs has Harvey Baylor, one of the ship's crew members, stumble across a Centrosaurus nest and decides it'd be a good idea to steal one egg. He is killed by the mother Centrosaurus as soon as she finds out about it.
• Double subverted in Tyranno's Claw. There's a triceratops character, but that one's a Mama Bear and Gentle Giant who befriends the main characters easily... until the Dark Tribe attacks, killing a young boy and trying to threaten the triceratops' baby, leading to the triceratops graphically mauling several people to death.
• The Valley of Gwangi features a Styracosaurus that attacks the humans whenever they cross paths and gets itself into a fight against Gwangi himself - an Allosaurus - twice in the movie.

Literature

• Astrosaurs has a subversion; one of the main heroes is a Triceratops, but he is The Smart Guy who only fights when necessary.
• The Dinosaur Lords: Naturally, the setting's residential ceratopsians that include Triceratops, Centrosaurus and Einiosaurus are territorial animals and are no strangers to fighting against one another. Though they can also be pretty placid once tamed as beasts of burden, at least towards their owners.
  • Triceratops are considered too aggressive to be tamed, making Karyl's use of them as the local equivalent to War Elephants a Game-Breaker. They're only defeated by an ingenuous tactic by Rob Korrigan: he herds a bunch of ankylosaurids towards them, as they're natural rivals competing for food and territory (the tris can flip over the ankys, the ankys can break the tris' legs).
  • Wild nosehorns are a menace to domesticated ones, breaking into corrals to attack the males and claim the females for themselves.
• B.P. Richfield from Dinosaurs is a Triceratops who is the owner and founder of the WeSaySo corporation and Earl's boss. He is very short-tempered and intimidates and demeans his employees, especially Earl, and once made him work overtime without pay, which resulted in a tree falling on Earl's leg, injuring it. Despite being a Triceratops, he has been known to eat meat, including the two mammals involved in an Adam and Eve Plot and his daughter Wendy's ex-boyfriends. He even tried to eat Earl when the latter talked about the importance of family over work (he stopped himself stopped upon learning that Earl could still be useful to the company).
• Dinotopia: Usually, any appearing ceratopsian averts this by instead being shown as social dinosaurs who have come to an understanding towards mankind and are willing to live in harmony. That said, they can be very fierce when it comes to protecting themselves and those whom they share companionship with.
• Dragonfly: The Next Guardian: The setting clearly establishes that herbivores are segregated from interacting with carnivores, hence most herbivores, including the Einiosaurus will threaten and react aggressively whenever a predator is in their presence. Subverted however with Styra, a female Einiosaurus who becomes friends with the eponymous Troodon.
• Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs averts this with Trike the Triceratops, who is just as friendly as the other dinosaurs.
• In Mastodonia, the protagonists go on a hunting trip to the Late Cretaceous and find (among other dinosaurs) a herd of grazing Triceratops. When they approach the herd, they find that the dinosaurs seem to act a lot like American bison did in the Old West: you can walk up without any precautions, but only to a certain distance. When they reach that distance the entire herd — a couple of hundred animals — stop grazing and turn to face them. They think that if they get any closer the dinosaurs will charge, but they wisely decide not to test that.
• The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution: The Monocorn (Monocornus occidentalis) is a speculative future ceratopsian had the non-avian dinosaurs not gone extinct. As they are herd animals, males will often fight with one another to determine who would lead their herd across North America and Eurasia, albeit the fights are usually harmless.
• One book in the Tarzan series, Tarzan the Terrible, features the Gryfs, a modern descendant of Triceratops that also eats meat. Another book, Tarzan at the Earth's Core, features traditional Triceratops (called "Gyor" in Pellucidarian language) which are depicted as extremely aggressive.

Live-Action TV

• Danger 5: In the episode "Lizard Soldiers of the Third Reich, a Triceratops'' is one of the cloned dinosaurs used as a war machine by Those Wacky Nazis. It has a rifle attached to each horn.
• Doctor Who: The Doctor and the Brigadier encounter a belligerent triceratops in the London Underground in "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". By contrast, the one he meets in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" acts like a big, friendly dog.
• Land of the Lost (1974): There is a Triceratops named Spike. A temperamental herbivore, Spike is often seen chasing the Marshall family out of his territory whenever they intrude and has been noted to go up into fights against Grumpy the T. rex on some occasions.
• Land of the Lost (1991): Subverted. The featured Triceratops, named "Princess", is usually friendly and offers rides with Christa and Stink. Unlike Spike, she usually refrains from fighting against Scarface, mainly because the Tyrannosaur has a notorious reputation among the creatures.
• Massive Monster Mayhem: Among the giant monsters sent by Master Mayhem to terrorize Earth is Teensy the Tri-terror-tops, a humanoid Kaiju based on the triceratops. Although Teensy's high-pitched voice and children show host side job dilute a bit the terror.
• Largely averted in dinosaur-themed seasons of Power Rangers. Team members with triceratops-themed power sets are usually The Smart Guys of their respective teams. However, when Power Rangers Cosmic Fury introduces an evil triceratops Ranger as The Heavy, this trope is in full effect. For one thing, he's dressed like this, and he definitely has a short temper, though that comes with the territory when he's the Token Competent Minion forced to work with goofy hench-monsters.
• Prehistoric Park: A combination of territorial instincts and teenage hormones mean that Theo, the park's Triceratops, develops an aggression problem. The zookeepers deal with by using tires and PVC to disguise a tractor as another Triceratops and using it to stage fights with Theo; this way, he can blow off steam in a controlled manner by locking horns with and chasing off a rival and becomes less prone to taking out his nerves on scenery and zookeepers.
• Primeval:
  • One of the companion novels which takes place after Season 2, Extinction Event shows a herd of Torosaurus, who live in large herds and are described as "aggressively unpredictable". This is best shown when a mother defends her calf and a herd retaliates when attacked by a tank, resulting in them killing one of its drivers.
  • Primeval: New World features a Triceratops that, while usually docile, can be aggressive when provoked. It has a dangerous reaction to the colour red, which is shown when a Triceratops attacks Dylan Weir after noticing her red clothing.

Tabletop Games

• Dungeons & Dragons features Monoclonius and Triceratops as among the many dinosaurs that inhabit the various realms of the setting. The Triceratops in particular is noted to have a very short temper for a herbivore, immediately attacking and killing any perceived threat for wandering into their territory.
• Magic: The Gathering: Ceratopsians and ceratopsian-inspired dinosaurs are typically portrayed as powerful, aggressive beings prone to dealing with problems through brute strength and headlong charges.
  "You don't tame a horncrest. You convince it that it's easier to destroy something else." —flavor text for Bonded Horncrest
• Pathfinder: Triceratops and Styracosaurus both have a notorious reputation among herbivores for having a very ill temper and instinctively charging at opponents they deem a threat or anything that irritates them with its presence.
• Warhammer: The Stegadon, a combination of the Stegosaurus and Triceratops, is an omnivorous dinosaurian beast that patrols the forests of Lustria and is coveted by the Lizardmen as transportation and battle mounts. They are also known for their territorial and highly aggressive nature, and for their tendency to trample and gore creatures that provoke them.

Video Games

• The Archotek Project: Downplayed with the Pachyrhinosaurus, Styracosaurus, Triceratops and Turanoceratops as they're all portrayed as sociable herd animals who get along with other herbivores. The only time they would act aggressive is if they're directly under attack by a predator.
• ARK: Survival Evolved: The Triceratops, despite being a herd animal is listed to be "Short-Tempered" and will immediately attack players if they get too close or attacked. The Pachyrhinosaurus is arguably worse as it releases a chemical pheromone upon being attacked that causes all surrounding non-domesticated herbivores in the environment to become hostile towards the player.
• Carnivores: The franchise features Triceratops in the first installment, Dinosaur Hunter 3D and Dinosaur Hunter Reborn and Chasmosaurus in Carnivores 2 and it's mobile port, Dinosaur Hunter. Both of them act like the other herbivores and run away if scared. But if harmed, they will instead turn towards you with the intent to kill.
• Diddy Kong Racing downplays this with Tricky the Triceratops. While he is the boss of Dino Domain and looks intimidating, he is not shown to be particularly temperamental and will even congratulate the player for beating him. In fact, like the other bosses he was brainwashed by Wizpig into racing the player.
• Dino D-Day features The Nazi Party cloning and using dinosaurs as military assets. Among them is a Styracosaurus that is equipped with a Panzer IV turret. Naturally, the Styracosaurus is relentless in pursuing and killing Allies and appears as a boss character to be defeated.
• Dino Crisis: The second game features a Triceratops pair that unprovoked attack Dylan and Regina after mistakenly thinking they had killed their young. Additionally, their Dino Files also explicitly call them very aggressive when it comes to their approach towards predators.
• Dino Strike have cybernetically-modified triceratops as Giant Mook enemies who tries goring you with their horns, though it's subverted when you disarm the machines embedded in their bodies, reverting them to benevolent, harmless dinosaurs.
• Dino System takes place in the Hell Creek Formation so it's obvious there's always a Triceratops somewhere. Normally, they're docile animals, unless you're playing survival mode where a male Triceratops goes from minding its own business to wanting to kill you on sight whenever it goes into breeding condition.
• Dragon Ball:
  • The Dragon Ball Z The Legacy Of Goku games feature dinosaurs as enemies, with one of them being Triceratops. Earlier in the second game, Gohan and Piccolo must work together to save a village from a highly territorial and oppressive Triceratops herd.
  • Dragon Ball Origins games feature Protoceratops and Triceratops as recurring enemies throughout Goku's adventure in finding the Dragon Balls. The Ceratopsids immediately attack Goku and Bulma upon first notice whenever in gameplay.
• E.V.O.: Search for Eden: Justified with the Styracosaurus (called "Syrocosaurus" in the English version), who is only angry because his child is missing, and will become friendly to the player once they save his child from attacking giant frogs. Played straight with the Triceratops ("Tritops") which charge at the player upon sight.
• Final Fantasy VII: The Heavy Tank enemy found near the ruined Gongaga reactor is an angry-looking ceratopsian with tank treads replacing its back half. It uses its horns and treads to ram into the heroes in battle.
• The Hunter Primal: All of the five dinosaurs encountered in the game are aggressive and territorial, and this includes the Triceratops, the sole herbivore to appear in the game.
• Horizon Forbidden West: Subverted by the Utaru land-gods, massive machines that look like Triceratops. Aloy is concerned when she first sees one, then notes that it's ignoring her. They are also known as Plowhorns, and spread plants throughout the Utaru lands. Scanning it with the Focus reveals that it's completely nonaggressive and ignores any attacks against it. But then HEPHAESTUS starts weaponizing them into Grimhorns...
• Jurassic Park:
  • In the Sega Master System game based on the first movie, one of the end-of-level bosses is a Triceratops. It charges at Dr. Alan Grant when it sees him, so Dr. Grant needs to jump out of its way and trick it into getting itself stuck in one of the two trees. Dr. Grant can attack the Triceratops while it's stuck, but the Triceratops can still attack back by kicking dirt at him with its rear legs.
  • Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis: The Triceratops is the most aggressive herbivore in the game. To highlight this, they are the only herbivores that can go under a "Dino Rampage", a trait that is only exclusive to carnivores and is not indiscriminate about leaving behind casualties. It can also engage in a Death Duel against the Tyrannosaurus.
  • In Jurassic Park: The Game, a mother Triceratops immediately takes issue with Dr Gerry Harding for even being close to her young (Harding was trying to help the juvenile) and promptly attacks him.
  • Jurassic World: Evolution: Ceratopsians like Sinoceratops, Styracosaurus, Pentaceratops and Torosaurus are usually docile and comfortable... unless they are all alone. Because they require a good amount of socialization in their lives, Ceratopsians will become discontent and grumpy, often leading to breakouts and rampaging across the park where they have to be tranquillized and put back into their enclosures. They will keep rampaging until they're given a companion under the same species. Averted with Triceratops, which is perfectly fine with living alone. All of them will become very aggressive towards theropods, and in the sequel towards other herbivores they're incompatible with like stegosaurids.
• The Legend of Zelda: While the monstrous Dodongos have varied in appearance over the years, their most common look is that of a carnivorous ceratopsian that breathes fire.
• Monster Hunter:
  • Usually, herbivores found in the series are peaceful and gentle animals that don't mind a hunters' presence unless attacked. On the flip-side, there are two herbivorous Flying Wyverns that are related to each other, and which both debuted in the original: The Monoblos and the Diablos, both of whom are incredibly temperamental, aggressive and prone to striking first at hunters upon noticing them. Both possess traits usually seen with ceratopsians, with Monoblos's facial design being identical to a Styracosaurus and the Diablos having forward-facing brow horns usually seen in chasmosaurines alongside a giant head frill.
  • Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate: The Bloodbath Deviant, characterized by its three-pronged left horn, as its overwhelming hatred has turned it into almost a different beast. When it was a juvenile, one of its horns were broken by Hunters. It would be a massive understatement to say this made it very, very pissed. As it grew into an adult, it slew swathes of humans for the slight they committed against them, and the dried blood from the innumerable humans and monsters it's killed turned its carapace a rather disconcerting color. This thing is so terrifying that even Elder Dragons capable of leaving a massive impact on their environment give it a wide berth. It's also disturbingly smart, too, especially in a world filled with mostly instinctual animals, as it actively seeks out humans to enact its revenge, and when it roars, it'll attempt to tackle anyone stunned by the roar.
• Rathops from Monster Sanctuary resembles a Triceratops, and its bio says that one could fend off the largest predators of its time with its horns.
• Pokémon:
  • Shieldon and Bastiodon are Fossil Pokemon clearly based on ceratopsians, though the exact genus is up for anyone's guess. The two of them are subversions of this trope, though; they prioritize defense over attack and are otherwise rather docile and sociable Pokemon.
  • Aggron plays this straighter, being a very territorial Triceratops-like Pokémon that attacks anything that damages the environment that it lives in. It's also sometimes treated as a rival to the Not Zilla vaguely T. Rexpy Tyranitar.
  • The Paradox Pokémon Gouging Fire also plays this straight. It's a Styracosaurus-like ancestor of the already intimidating leonine Entei, and its Pokédex entries describe it as rampaging while spouting pillars of flame. It's also a dragon.
• Prehistoric Isle has every dinosaur attacking the player and shooting fireballs at you. Among the featured species are Triceratops and Protoceratops that debut in the sequel.
• Putt-Putt Travels Through Time has a Triceratops that does nothing but eat, although his Compsognathus buddy mentions his Berserk Button is being called "three-horned face" (which Triceratops means).
• Saurian has the Triceratops as a playable animal. While females are sociable animals that live in herds and are protective of their young, the males are solitary and only one of them would be seen in a herd. Male Triceratops have to compete against one another and the game actively encourages you to do so as players would have to fight against other males if it means patrolling a piece of land and mating with a female.
• Second Extinction have hostile ceratops as a Giant Mook enemy, who immediately tries roughing you up with its horns on sight.
• Shadow Master have a gigantic triceratops monster as a boss on Planet Glasys, who attacks by charging at your mech with a fierce tackle.
• Super Mario World features fire-spitting Triceratops called Reznors as bosses in fortresses that serve Bowser and the Koopalings and attack Mario and co. with fire breaths from platforms.
• Turok: The first game, Dinosaur Hunter, features Triceratops mounted by Campaigner Soldiers and equipped with futuristic weaponry. Part of their challenging status comes from their aggressive behaviour. The second game, Seeds of Evil also features a Styracosaurus with a rather similar function, though the Triceratops does return in Evolution where they would attack Tal'Set if he gets too close to them.
• World of Warcraft introduces a new species of dinosaur known as the Direhorn in the Mists of Pandaria expansion pack. Direhorns are strong, fast and tough and, despite being Gentle Giants, they have been noted to have caused a lot of damage towards invaders and unsuspecting victims. They are also a Mix-and-Match Critter, having the back and side armor and tail club of Ankylosaurus.
• Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and its sequel have the ceratopsian Mammut enemies, which hit hard and aggro the party on sight unlike other monsters based on herbivores.
• Zniw Adventure: The ceratopsians in the game can be rather touchy. Most particular is Steffen the Unescoceratops (a small leptoceratopsid or basal ceratopsian), who is snappy and distrustful towards Zniw due to being an outsider.
• Both Zoo Tycoon games have Triceratops and Styracosaurus as purchasable animals. While they aren't as dangerous as the carnivores, they also pose a threat for the zoo's human guests and require special enforced fencing. The first game's Triceratops however deserves a special mention- in the base game it's an Easter Egg animal that can be contained with elephant fencing but when the dinosaur expansion pack is installed the Triceratops will have its stats updated to make it match the other dinosaurs which makes it stronger and more aggressive. Curiously this also changes its ingame model, turning it from a larger vividly-colored orange (and way better looking◊) version to a smaller dull-brown colored (and less pleasant to look at◊) visual design.

Web Original

• Critical Role: Campaign One has Scanlan begin his distraction rampage through Duke Vedmire's house, killing guards, destroying the building, and eventually defeating Vedmire, with one immortal phrase:
  Scanlan: I turn into a triceratops.
• Dinosaurs Battle World Championship: All of the featured ceratopsians (Triceratops, Torosaurus, Medusaceratops, Anchiceratops, Pentaceratops, Styracosaurus, Rubeosaurus, Chasmosaurus, Bravoceratops, Titanoceratops, and Diceratops'') are powerful fighters not afraid to use their sharp horns.
• Spec World has the K'z'k Tuskhorn (Jugaloceratops kizke), a ferocious modern-day ceratopsian from South America so aggressive that it will charge at people on foot, in jeeps, and in helicopters. It is said to be responsible for more deaths than all the predators in South America put together.

Western Animation

• 64,000,000 Years Ago: A Triceratops is shown to be very territorial about its residential field. Justified, considering that its a mother that is defending her young.
• Dino Ranch has a Triceratops named Angus who behaves a lot like a bull. He really doesn't like being disturbed (especially while sleeping) and will rampage about when angered. Fortunately, he can always be calmed down with his favorite treat, turnips.
• Dinosaucers: There are at least two ceratopsians in the primary cast, one on each opposing side. On the side of the Tyrannos, there's Styraco, a Styracosaurus who seems to serve as a henchmen to an evil organization. On the side of the heroic Dinosaucers, there's Tricero, a Triceratops who inverts this trope by being a calm voice of reason.
• Dinotrux: Among the main cast is Dozer, who is identified as a Dozeratops (part Triceratops, part bulldozer), who comes off the cynical/gruff member of the group, mainly because he initially finds it hard to accept working with Ty Rux. Even after they manage to establish a friendship with Ty and his other friends, he still remains quite the Grumpy Trike.
• DuckTales (2017): While Tootsie in the original 1987 series is an aversion, being a friendly, dog-like dinosaur companion of Bubba the Caveduck, the reboot series reimagines her as a wild Triceratops who panics after getting brought to modern times and tramples everything in her way. She also comes from a different time period than Bubba, who only manages to temporarily wrangle her before both of them get return to their respective time periods.
• Extreme Dinosaurs: Spike, a musclebound humanoid Triceratops with a broken horn, is the Hot-Blooded Blood Knight of the Extreme Dinosaurs, though he is also a gardener and cook in his free time.
• Gigantosaurus averts this with Tiny, who is a playful Genki Girl. She also has a Cool Big Bro, Trey, who is protective of her and her friends.
• Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous mostly downplays this. The Sinoceratops that appear in the series are docile herbivores that will mind their own business unless they feel threatened or provoked, then they will usually become aggressive such as in the episode "The Cattle Drive".
• The King Kong Show portrays Triceratops as the most vicious animal in the world that "kills for pleasure". Sure enough, the ceratopsian would attack the characters on sight, forcing Kong to battle it.
• The Land Before Time cartoon series downplays this with Topsy compared to his appearances in the movies, making him more of a loveable grouch instead of a strict isolationist. Cera likewise is also easier to get along with and her stepmother Tria and half-sister Tricia avert the trope completely.
• The Legend of Tarzan: One of the animals Tarzan and friends encounter in Pellucidar is an aggressive Triceratops that chases away the raptors who were stalking Tarzan before, then proceeds to attack Tarzan. This is a Mythology Gag regarding the Gryfs and Gyors from the books (see above).
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features the Triceratons, an extraterrestrial race of anthropomorphic Triceratops that pit themselves against the Ninja Turtles and are intergalactic warriors who are vicious in their approach. In one such continuity, they are more than willing to destroy Earth if it means taking down the Kraang.
• Transformers: Whenever the Dinobots make their appearance, one of the mainstays is Slag, who transforms into a Triceratops. Even among the usually rambunctious and temperamental members, Slag sticks out like a sore thumb by being the most aggressive and battle-crazed member, to the point where even Grimlock (who himself is pretty crazy) sometimes finds it difficult to discipline him.
  • Ironically averted with two from the villain factions. The first is Kakuryu of the Decepticon Dinoforce from Transformers: Victory, who is evil in name only and generally childish and affable. The other is Predacon Guiledart from Beast Wars Neo, a straight-laced high-ranking general who is stoic, composed, and incredibly polite for a villain.
• Valley of the Dinosaurs features a plethora of different species that range between friendly or aggressive. The Triceratops would sometimes act hostile towards the main cast. There is also a Styracosaurus, whose case is justified as it's simply trying to defend her offspring.

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