Why Triceratops has a big nose

Triceratops was a huge plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 66 million years ago.

It is famous for its three horns and giant bony frill (head crest).

But scientists have discovered that its enormous head and horned snout may have been useful for more than just looking impressive, because inside that giant snout was a surprisingly complicated nose.

Seishiro Tada from the University of Tokyo Museum said: "Triceratops in particular had a very large and unusual nose... That made me interested in their nasal anatomy and its function and evolution."

And it was a nose that these dinosaurs used for more than just smell.

To find out more about the ginormous noses, researchers - including a team from the University of Tokyo - took scans to look inside fossilised skulls.

They then built 3D computer models to study the shapes of the spaces inside the skull.

The team also compared the fossils with the noses of living animals like birds and crocodiles.

Triceratops and other horned dinosaurs had exceptionally large nasal cavities compared to most other animals.

A nasal cavity is the hollow space inside the nose where air passes through. Instead of being empty, these spaces likely contained networks of nerves and blood vessels.

The researchers also found evidence for something called a "respiratory turbinate" - a curly structure inside the nose that helps warm and moisten the air you breathe.

It can also help control body temperature.

Although Triceratops may not have been fully warm-blooded like mammals, these special nose structures probably helped it manage heat and keep moisture inside its body.

Keeping body temperature steady is important for all animals because their organs - like the heart, lungs, and brain - work best within a safe temperature range.

If an animal overheats, its body can become stressed or unwell. If it gets too cold, its body systems can slow down.

Triceratops had an enormous head with a very large surface area. A big body can trap heat, especially in warm climates like those of the Late Cretaceous period.

If its nose helped cool incoming air or release excess heat through blood vessels, that would help prevent overheating.

Moisture control is also important. When animals breathe, they lose water in the air they breathe out, and in dry environments, losing too much water can lead to dehydration.

So if Triceratops really did have these nasal features, they may have helped it survive by keeping its internal conditions more balanced - something that's really important for such a large dinosaur.