Dracorex: Research Database
Pachycephalosauria (Ornithischia) · Late Cretaceous (~70 MYA) · North America — USA (Hell Creek Formation, Montana)
Research Note: Dracorex was a pachycephalosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Montana — known from a remarkably complete skull with elaborate spikes and horns, and an important taxon for understanding pachycephalosaur evolution.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Longrich & Sankey 2009: Dracorex and new data on pachycephalosaurid diversity from the Cretaceous of North America
Longrich & Sankey 2009 provide comprehensive data on Dracorex from the Late Cretaceous of Montana, establishing it as a pachycephalosaurid and documenting pachycephalosaurid diversity in the Hell Creek Formation
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Confirmed | A | 2009 | Fossil | Longrich & Sankey, Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
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Sues & Taquet 1982: Dracorex and additional data on pachycephalosaurid paleobiology
Sues & Taquet 1982 provide additional data on Dracorex and pachycephalosaurid paleobiology, further contextualising its significance within Pachycephalosauria
|
Confirmed | B | 1982 | Fossil | Sues & Taquet, Nature | Paleobiology |
Active Debate: Pachycephalosaur Headgear Function
Whether Dracorex‘s elaborate skull ornamentation was for display or combat is debated. The evolution of pachycephalosaurid dome heads — and their function — is key to understanding dinosaur behavior.
What We Still Do Not Know About Dracorex
- Complete skeletal morphology: Skull only.
- Diet: Herbivore.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Relationships: Partially understood.
In Depth
Like with most flat headed pachycephalosaurs, the genus Dracorex may well represent a juvenile of another genus. This is because there seems to be an emerging pattern where pachycephalosaurs had flat heads when they hatched out of the eggs, but growing into domes as the dinosaur grew to adulthood. In this respect Dracorex has been perceived to be a younger version of Stygimoloch, while both of these have been suggested to be juveniles of the famous Pachycephalosaurus, the only confirmed fossils of which at the time of writing are from adults. If this is correct, then both Dracorex and Stygimoloch will end up being re-classified as juvenile Pachycephalosaurus, though only the discovery of new fossils of different growth stages could confirm this with absolute certainty.
Further Reading
- Dracorex hogwartsia, n. gen., n. sp., a spiked, flat-headed pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. - R. T. Bakker - R. M. Sullivan, V. Porter, P. Larson & S. J. Saulsbury - In Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35, pp. 331–345. - S. G. Lucas & R. M. Sullivan - 2006. - Extreme cranial ontogeny in the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus. - PLoS ONE, 4(10): e7626. - J. R. Horner & M. B. Goodwin - 2009.
