Facts About Pachycephalosaurus
The Pachycephalosaurus is certainly a mouthful, so it’s no surprise you might not have heard of this one. We’re excited to introduce you to the Pachycephalosaurus and lots of fun facts about it, including what made its skull so unique—Its name even means “thick-headed skull”! This Cretaceous dinosaur might not be recognisable, but it was still super interesting, so get reading!
What did the Pachycephalosaurus look like?
As you might have guessed, the Pachycephalosaurus had quite an interesting and unique skull! Its skull could be up to 10 inches thick, which is thicker than the length of a bowling pin. For comparison, a human skull is only up to 0.6 inches thick, making the Pachycephalosaurus’s skull 15 times thicker! Their domed skull was surrounded by knobbly spikes, and it kind of looked like it was wearing a helmet. Check out the examples below!
It looks kinda funny, right? Some scientists believe the Pachycephalosaurus’s hard, domed skull and bumpy spikes were used for headbutting—Similar to how a goat would! Others believe its spikes might have been used as decoration to show off to other dinosaurs or to attract mates. Similarly, scientists aren’t sure why the Pachycephalosaurus had such small arms! Its arms wouldn’t be helpful for grabbing things, and its strong hind legs were used for walking, making it bipedal.
Meanwhile, it’s long and sturdy tail helped it balance while moving, especially since it only moved on two legs! Unlike many other dinosaurs, like the similarly beaked Gallimimus, the Pachycephalosaurus didn’t have any claws or even any horns. It’s most likely that it relied on its speed and hard head to survive, though some scientists believe it may have also had feathers, which could have been for warmth, communication, or even decoration.
As the exact appearance of dinosaurs remains uncertain, the images above are provided for illustrative purposes only and have been generated using AI technology.
How big was the Pachycephalosaurus?
Although it wasn’t the biggest dinosaur, the Pachycephalosaurus was still quite big compared to dinosaurs like the Velociraptor. It stood at about 1.5 metres, which is roughly the height of an average human. However, it was about 4.5 metres long, making it kind of like a human as long as a car!
Despite its size, the pachycephalosaurus was surprisingly light, weighing about 400-900 pounds, which is similar to the weight of a lion. It’s very light given how much bigger than a lion the Pachycephalosaurus was! Its light body and strong legs meant it could run as fast as a car, at around 30 miles per hour. Although it isn’t super speedy, it would have been enough for the Pachycephalosaurus to escape predators like the ferocious T. Rex!
What did the Pachycephalosaurus eat?
While it might look like a meat-eater, the Pachycephalosaurus was a herbivore! It had small, leaf-shaped teeth that were perfect for eating soft fruits, plants, and even seeds. These teeth weren’t very strong for eating tougher plants, but given its height it would have been able to eat lots of low-lying plants. Its beak and teeth would have been perfect for plucking fruit and scraping leaves off branches, so it had lots of options!
Despite the abundance of plant life, some scientists believe the Pachycephalosaurus might have been an omnivore, meaning it ate both plants and meat. That means it may have occasionally snacked on small animals or insects for added nutrients. Its teeth were no good for fighting creatures, so it might have scavenged already dead creatures or picked on small ones like ants.
Where did the Pachycephalosaurus live?
The Pachycephalosaurus lived around 70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period, in what we now call North America. More specifically, Pachycephalosaurus fossils have been found in places we know as South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Do you live near where the Pachycephalosaurus did? It probably looks quite different now!
Back then, the Earth was humid and tropical, covered in forests, plains, and water systems like lakes or rivers. This would have been a great place for the Pachycephalosaurus to pick on plants or insects, and its speedy legs would have helped it run across plains and far from danger. This area was full of predators like the T. Rex, so its thick skull and speed were great for defence or avoiding danger.
What killed the Pachycephalosaurus?
Like many other dinosaurs, the Pachycephalosaurus went extinct when an asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago. Although the asteroid didn’t kill dinosaurs like the Pachycephalosaurus, it caused drastic climate changes that affected plants and living creatures alike. With rapidly changing temperatures and catastrophic events like wildfires, plants couldn’t grow and many dinosaurs couldn’t adjust to these changes. Even if the Pachycephalosaurus survived these events, it unfortunately would have starved without plants or even insects to eat.
Pachycephalosaurus Facts
- The Pachycephalosaurus’s skull was so thick that it would have been near-impossible to break. Scientists think it worked like a bike helmet, absorbing impacts and allowing the Pachycephalosaurus to headbutt in defence.
- Although we know the adult Pachycephalosaurus had a domed skull, some scientists think they grew into it, meaning they might have been born with smaller, flatter skulls.
- The Pachycephalosaurus’s big eyes suggest it had good vision, which would help it spot predators across plains or find food.
- Since it went extinct during the mass extinction event, the Pachycephalosaurus was one of the last dinosaurs to exist!
- While the Pachycephalosaurus is famous for its skull, scientists aren’t certain it actually used it to headbutt. It might have been just for defence, or even for display—Maybe to make it look tougher than it really was, since it didn’t have claws!
Closing Summary:
The Pachycephalosaurus might not be the most recognisable dinosaur, but now you know lots of cool facts to share about it! There’s still plenty to learn, but the Pachycephalosaurus is a pretty unique and interesting dinosaur to learn about. If you keep learning, maybe one day you’ll find out what its domed skull was for, or why it had such tiny arms! You can also check out our activities for plenty of creative tasks—If the Pachycephalosaurus had feathers, what do you think they’d look like?
Pachycephalosaurus Questions & Answers
Now that you’ve learned all about the fascinating Pachycephalosaurus, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test! We’ve created a fun quiz with 10 questions based on the cool facts you just discovered.
Download our printable quiz and see how many answers you can get right! Whether you’re a dinosaur enthusiast or just starting to explore the prehistoric world, this quiz is a fun and exciting way to challenge yourself. Are you ready? Let’s see how much you remember!
