Dino Wiki
Cartoon of Pachycephalosaurus
Dino card No. 1340 of 2,027

Pachycephalosaurus

Say it: PAK-ee-SEF-uh-loh-SORE-us
Name means: “thick-headed lizard”1
Ate: PlantsDome-headsLate Cretaceous

Pachycephalosaurus was a dinosaur with a super thick, bony dome on its head. It walked on two legs and used its beak to snip plants. It lived at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, about 69 to 66 million years ago.12

Lived
84 to 66 million years ago5
Late Cretaceous
Fossils found in
Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alberta, Canada512
Food
Plants12
Length
4.5 m2
Weight
370 kg to 450 kg2

When did it live?

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

Pachycephalosaurus about 4.5 m longA bicycle about 1.8 mA car about 4.5 mAn elephant, the biggest land animal today about 6.5 mA house about 10 m

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 15 big dogs
as long as 4 dogs nose to tailas long as 25 bananas end to endas heavy as 90 watermelons

How big was Pachycephalosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The bony dome on its skull could be up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) thick, safely cushioning its tiny brain.2

2

Scientists used to think Stygimoloch and Dracorex were different dinosaurs, but now most believe they were just young Pachycephalosaurus.12

3

The first Pachycephalosaurus fossil was found around 1860 and was thought to be from an armadillo-like creature. It was named Tylosteus.12

4

Pachycephalosaurus was one of the last non-bird dinosaurs alive before the big extinction 66 million years ago.2

5

Its dome may have been used for head-butting fights, like bighorn sheep, but some scientists now disagree.2

6

Pachycephalosaurus had a beak for cropping plants and small, serrated teeth that could also shred meat, so it might have eaten some meat too.2

AI-madeAI-made picture of Pachycephalosaurus
An AI-made picture of how Pachycephalosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.
you asked

Most asked questions about Pachycephalosaurus

?How big was Pachycephalosaurus?

Pachycephalosaurus was about 4.5 metres (15 feet) long and weighed around 370 to 450 kilograms (820 to 990 pounds). That's about as long as a small car and as heavy as a large horse.23

?What did Pachycephalosaurus eat?

Pachycephalosaurus was a herbivore, eating leaves, fruit, and seeds. Some scientists think it might have also eaten meat because its teeth look a bit like those of meat-eaters, but nobody knows for sure.32

?Did Pachycephalosaurus use its dome for head-butting?

Many scientists think Pachycephalosaurus used its thick dome for head-butting fights, like bighorn sheep do today. But some experts disagree and think the dome was for display, like deer antlers. It is still a mystery.32

?When did Pachycephalosaurus live?

Pachycephalosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 69 to 66 million years ago. It was one of the last non-bird dinosaurs before the big extinction.32

?Where was Pachycephalosaurus found?

Fossils of Pachycephalosaurus have been found in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alberta. That's in North America.32

?Was Pachycephalosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Pachycephalosaurus was a dinosaur. It was a type of pachycephalosaurid ornithischian dinosaur, which means it was a plant-eating dinosaur with bird-like hips.2

?How thick was Pachycephalosaurus's skull?

The bony dome on its skull could be up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) thick. That's about as thick as a big dictionary.24

?Did Pachycephalosaurus have feathers?

The sources don't mention feathers on Pachycephalosaurus. So we don't know if it had feathers. It probably had scaly skin like other dinosaurs of its group.2

?Could Pachycephalosaurus run fast?

The sources don't give a speed for Pachycephalosaurus. But it walked on two legs and had long, strong legs, so it might have been able to run quickly to escape predators.2

?Is Pachycephalosaurus related to Triceratops?

Yes, Pachycephalosaurus and Triceratops are both part of a group called Marginocephalia, which means 'head-fringed' dinosaurs. They are distant cousins.2

Ask Rex about Pachycephalosaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

Myth buster

Myth: Pachycephalosaurus used its dome to ram into rivals at full speed.

Truth: The dome was probably used for head-butting, but the shape and structure suggest it was more for pushing or flank-butting, not full-speed ramming.2

For dino experts

Scientific name
Pachycephalosaurus
Named by
Brown and Schlaikjer 19435
Group
Dome-heads
Family / clade
Eupachycephalosauria5
Classification
Ornithischia > Pachycephalosauria5
Age of the rocks
84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)5
Rock formations
Hell Creek, Lance, Ferris5
Countries
USA, Canada5
Fossil records
34 in the Paleobiology Database5
Also known as
Dracorex, Stenotholus, Stygimoloch, Tylosteus (older names now counted as the same animal)5
Discovery
The name Pachycephalosaurus was created in 1943 by Barnum Brown and Erich Maren Schlaikjer after more complete skulls were found in Montana and South Dakota.12
Still debated
Scientists still debate whether Stygimoloch and Dracorex are really just young Pachycephalosaurus or separate species.2

Where the facts come from

  1. Pachycephalosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
  2. Pachycephalosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
  3. Pachycephalosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
  4. Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis, Dinosaur Pictures, Dinosaur Facts - National Geographic | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
  5. Pachycephalosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex

More from the same group: Dome-heads

Also from the same time: Late Cretaceous

Ask RexAI dino helperFeed Rextip jar for grown-ups