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dome-headed dinosaur
Pachycephalosaurus
Say it like this: “pak-i-SEF-a-lo-SAWR-us”
Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
Pachycephalosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1943 · Brown, B.; Schlaikjer, E. M.
- Hip height
- 1.6 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 4.5 m · 15 ft
- Weight
- 370–450 kg · 816–992 lb
- Found in
- the United States · Lance
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- dome-headed dinosaur · Pachycephalosaur
- Family branch
- Pachycephalosaurinae
The story in short
The genus Pachycephalosaurus dates to 1943, the year B. Brown and E. M. Schlaikjer described it. The name means “thick-headed lizard.”
Fossils referred to Pachycephalosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Lance Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Pachycephalosaurus at a length near 4.5 m, hips about 1.6 m high, and a body mass around 370–450 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Pachycephalosaurinae, among the dome-headed dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Acrotholus
Acrotholus audeti
Late Cretaceous (Santonian) · roughly 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago
Alaskacephale
Alaskacephale gangloffi
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Brontotholus
Brontotholus harmoni
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago