Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), 70–66 Ma
↓
Holotype skull of "P. reinheimeri".
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: †Ornithischia
Suborder: †Pachycephalosauria
Family: †Pachycephalosauridae
Tribe: †Pachycephalosaurini
Genus: †Pachycephalosaurus
Brown & Schlaikjer, 1943
Type species
†Troodon wyomingensis
Gilmore, 1931
Species
  • †P. wyomingensis
    (Gilmore, 1931) (conserved name)
  • †P. spinifer?
    (Galton & Sues, 1983)
Synonyms
List
  • Tylosteus ornatus
    Leidy, 1872 (rejected name)
  • Troodon wyomingensis
    Gilmore, 1931
  • Pachycephalosaurus grangeri
    Brown & Schlaikjer, 1943
  • Pachycephalosaurus reinheimeri
    Brown & Schlaikjer, 1943
  • Stenotholus kohleri
    Giffin, Gabriel & Johnson, 1988
  • Stygimoloch spinifer?
    Galton & Sues, 1983
  • Dracorex hogwartsia?
    Bakker et al., 2006

Pachycephalosaurus was a genus of dinosaur which lived during the last five million years of the Upper Cretaceous. It lived in what is now North America. This member of the Pachycephalosaurid family is known from a single skull and a few thick skull roofs. From this it is estimated that its length was about 4.5 to 5 metres long (about 15 feet).

Pachycephalosaurus was a herbivore. It lived on a mixed diet of leaves, seeds, and fruit. The sharp, serrated teeth would have been very effective for shredding plants.

Skeletal mount of Pachycephalosaurus

References

  1. ↑ Giffin, Emily B.; Gabriel, Diane L.; Johnson, Rolf E. (22 January 1988). "A New Pachycephalosaurid Hell Creek Formation of Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7 (4). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 398–407. doi:10.1080/02724634.1988.10011672. JSTOR 4523163. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. ↑ Giffin, Emily B; Gabriel, Diane L; Johnson Rolf E. 1988. A new Pachycephalosaurid: Hell Creek Formation of Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7 (4): 398–407.
  3. ↑ The dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-520-94143-4. OCLC 801843269.