How the Triceratops Used Its Giant Nose

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IWhen looking at a Triceratops skull, your eye is naturally drawn to its trio of horns. But, nestled between the head horns and the nose horn is another iconic feature: a pair of enormous nasal cavities. The physiological function of these large cavities is illuminated by a new study published in The anatomical file.

“Triceratops in particular had very large and unusual noses, and I couldn’t figure out how the organs fit there,” noted first author Seishiro Tada of the University of Tokyo Museum in a press release.

Tada and colleagues from natural history museums in the United States, Canada, Japan and China used X-ray CT scans to closely examine the internal structure of a Triceratops’ nose with an eye toward reconstructing its soft tissues. Based on their knowledge of the nasal architecture of other reptiles, the researchers inferred the location of the nasal organs and neurovascular pathways in the nose.

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The reconstruction showed an unusual architecture in Triceratops, in which the largest cranial nerve, the trigeminal nerve, which typically runs along the jaw and confers sensitivity to the animal’s nose, instead passes through the nostrils. “In most reptiles, nerves and blood vessels reach the nostrils from the jaw and nose. But in Triceratops, the shape of the skull blocks the jaw passage, so the nerves and vessels take the nasal branch,” Tada explained.

Additionally, researchers found evidence of “respiratory turbinates,” structures common to birds and mammals but rare in dinosaurs. These narrow, curved bony shelves in the nose facilitate oxygen and heat exchange by providing additional surface area. Triceratops probably weren’t as warm-blooded as birds or mammals, but they still could have benefited from respiratory turbinates to regulate the temperature and humidity of their massive noses. Their enormous heads would have taken time to heat or cool, given the low surface area-to-volume ratio.

Basically, Triceratops’ stubbornness required unique and specialized nasal adaptations.

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Main image: Openfinal / Shutterstock

• Devin Reese

  Published on February 24, 2026

  Devin Reese is the editor-in-chief of Natural history and a science writer based in Alexandria, Virginia.