Is the Stygimoloch real?
Stygimoloch was a thick-skulled plant-eating dinosaur (a pachycephalosaur) that walked on two legs. This unusual-looking dinosaur had bony spikes and bumps on its skull; the many horns ranged up to 4 inches (100 mm) long. Pachycephalosaurs probably engaged in head-butting both as a defense and as intra-species rivalry.
Is Dracorex real?
Dracorex is a pachycephalosaur from the end of the Cretaceous Period which was identified after the discovery of a spectacular skull. Some scientists think the skull may actually belong to a young Pachycephalosaurus.
When was the Stygimoloch discovered?
Stygimoloch was originally discovered in the late 1800s, but there were very few fossils. More were discovered in in 1982, making a formal description possible. In 1995, fossil hunter Mike Triebold found a complete skeleton of this fascinating dinosaur.
Is Dracorex a baby Pachycephalosaurus?
“Dracorex’s flat skull, nodules on the front end and small spikes on back, and thickened but undomed frontoparietal bone all confirm that, ontogenetically, it is a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus,” Goodwin said. In all, they looked at 21 dome-headed dinosaur skulls and cranial elements from North America.
Are Dracorex and Stygimoloch the same?
There was a small, flat-headed form called Dracorex, a dome-headed mid-size species with large spikes called Stygimoloch, and the classic, large Pachycephalosaurus.
Did Dracorex eat meat?
An interesting fact about Dracorex is that it had extremely sharp, serrated teeth. This may indicate that this dinosaur was in fact not an herbivore but was actually an omnivore—meaning that it would eat both meat and plants, as well as anything else it might find.
What is the difference between a Stygimoloch and an Dracorex?
Dracorex has similar but shorter hornlets and lacks a dome, and has been interpreted as either a distinct species, or a juvenile or female of Pachycephalosaurus or Stygimoloch. It has also been proposed that Stygimoloch represents partially grown individuals of Pachycephalosaurus.
Do all ceratopsians have horns?
Ceratopsians are the Rhinos of the dinosaur world – large, plant eating and horned. All ceratopsians have a “beak” and at least the beginning of a frill. Later forms also had the well-known horns.
What is the relationship between Dracorex Stygimoloch Pachycephalosaurus relationship?
In conclusion, an ontogenetic relationship is established, being infantile, juvenile and adult individuals of the same species, between Dracorex hogwartsia , Stygimoloch spinifer and Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis , the latter being the bearer of the valid species name, as it is the first of the three to be described.