Visitors to the Berlin Naturkundemuseum (Germany) will be able to see an amazing Triceratops skull on display as part of an exhibition entitled “Dinosaurs! Age of the Giant Lizards”.

The impressive cranium, complete with horns and an imposing head shield measures two metres long and it was found in Lance Creek Formation deposits (Wyoming, USA) back in 2020. The fossil was discovered by an amateur fossil hunter and after preparation in Canada, the current owner Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen has lent the stunning specimen to the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.

Horned Dinosaur Skull

The Triceratops specimen has been nick-named “Amalie” after the daughter of the owner. It is not known whether the skull fossil is from a female or male Triceratops. Both males and females sported neck frills and horns.

Numerous ornithischian dinosaurs are known from the Lance (Creek) Formation. The strata were deposited during the Maastrichtian faunal stage of the Late Cretaceous (69-66 million years ago). The fossils found in these rocks represent a diverse dinosaur dominated terrestrial fauna that thrived prior to the mass extinction event that saw the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs, including ceratopsians like Triceratops.

The picture above shows a Triceratops model and skull, which is part of the PNSO Age of Dinosaurs series.

To view the PNSO prehistoric animal models and figures available from Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models and Replicas.

Triceratops Skull on Display

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented that they were unsure as to the Triceratops species that “Amalie” represented. They explained that both Triceratops horridus and an as yet, not fully described Triceratops species are associated with the Lance Formation.

Johannes Vogel, Director General of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin thanked the owner for lending this wonderful specimen and stated:

“The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin would like to express its sincere thanks to Mr Fjeldsoe-Nielsen for this further generous loan. This will enable research museums like ours to get visitors excited about nature and explore the objects.”

The exhibition “Dinosaurs! Age of the Giant Lizards” is due to run until the end of the year.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a media release from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin in the compilation of this article.