The fossil origin and body characteristics of Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus is a kind of dinosaur with a hard and thick skull as "horns". Like goats, they also like to use their "horns" to fight. Pachycephalosaurus represents the Pachycephalosaurus dinosaur. It is 4.6 meters long and weighs 430 kilograms. It has short forelimbs and long hind legs, and can walk upright. Its tail is long and used to maintain body balance. Have you ever seen two goats fighting? They both stood up, separated from each other at a distance, and then rushed forward, and the two heads hit each other - strictly speaking, their big horns hit each other.

Many different dinosaurs had different heads, but generally speaking, the thickness of their skulls was proportional to the size of their bodies. Relatively speaking, the skulls of carnivorous dinosaurs are thicker, while the skulls of herbivorous dinosaurs are thinner. For example, although the long-necked Mamenchisaurus is more than 20 meters long, the thickness of its skull is only more than 1 centimeter. The only exception is the pachycephalosaur dinosaur. Although the individual is not large, its skull is extremely swollen and thick. There is no other animal in ancient and modern times that can compare with it. Its thickness can reach 25 centimeters. Due to the swelling and thickness of the skull, the holes in the upper part of the skull were also closed, turning it into a strong hammer. Moreover, there are horny or bony protrusions or tumors on the face and mouth of Pachycephalosaurus, which makes it look terrifying.

Why is the skull of Pachycephalosaurus so thick? This may be related to the violent "bumping" habits among their kind. In particular, the "head-to-head" fights between male pachycephalosaurs are often a competition for females and are not life-threatening. This kind of fighting is a common phenomenon in other animals and is a natural process of selecting superior strains. However, some paleontologists believe that if Pachycephalosaurs collided with each other with full force, they might cause concussion and death. Therefore, they speculate that Pachycephalosaurus would attack each other's shoulder blades during normal collisions. But when Pachycephalosaurus was attacked by carnivorous dinosaurs, it would probably use its "hammer"-like head to hit back at the intruder with all its strength.

Chinese name: Pachycephalosaurus

Latin name: Pachycephalosaurus

Age of survival: Late Cretaceous

Fossil origin: North America, Britain, Asia

Physical characteristics: 4.6 meters long

Diet: plants

Species: Pachycephalosaurus

Definition: A lizard with a thick head

animal tags： Pachycephalosaurus