Pachycephalosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
The domed skull is a striking specialisation and makes the function of dinosaur skulls a subject of debate.
Image: IJReid · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
- Lived
- 68–66 Ma (68 million years ago)
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Habitat
- Plains, Forest
- Length (estimate)
- 4.5 m
- Mass (estimate)
- 450 kg
Description
Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal dinosaur with a thick, domed skull and short bony knobs at the back of its head. The dome may have been used for display, species recognition or pushing; full-force head-butting is biomechanically disputed. Its teeth indicate a varied diet of plants and possibly small animals. Many finds consist of skull fragments, leaving its body structure and growth less well known.
Habitat
River woodlands and open coastal plains.
Fossil sites
Hell Creek Formation, Wyoming
Hell Creek Formation
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Contemporaries in the database
Sources: Pachycephalosaurus