Foraminacephale

Fo-rah-min-ah-sef-a-lay.
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Cassidy Wood

Paleoentomologist

Cassidy Wood uncovers the tiny yet significant world of prehistoric insects. Her research on amber-preserved specimens has revealed intricate details about ancient ecosystems.

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Name

Foraminacephale ‭(‬foramina head‭)‬.

Phonetic

Fo-rah-min-ah-sef-a-lay.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Pachycephalosauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

F.‭ ‬brevis‭

Size

Roughly estimated to be about‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Canada,‭ ‬Alberta‭ ‬-‭ ‬Dinosaur Park Formation,‭ ‬Oldman Formation.

Time Period

Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial remains of over twenty individuals.

In Depth

       Foraminacephale is a genus of small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Fossil material of Foraminacephale was originally assigned to the Stegoceras genus as the species S.‭ ‬brevis,‭ ‬but became the basis of a new genus in‭ ‬2016‭ (‬Schott‭ & ‬Evans‭)‬.‭ ‬Several partial skulls of Foraminacephale are‭ ‬are‭ ‬known,‭ ‬and these allow for the Foraminacephale genus to be differentiated from others.‭ ‬The rear portion of the skull dome of Foraminacephale runs back and down the back of the skull.‭ ‬Growth of the rear portion of the dome is also beginning to be developed in younger individuals when those of other similarly aged juveniles of Stegocereas.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Cranial variation and systematics of Foraminacephale brevis gen.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬and the diversity of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs‭ (‬Ornithischia:‭ ‬Cerapoda‭) ‬in the Belly River Group of Alberta,‭ ‬Canada.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ryan K.‭ ‬Schott‭ & ‬David C.‭ ‬Evans‭ ‬-‭ ‬2016.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

spinosaurus