Name:
Colepiocephale (Greek for "knucklehead"); pronounced co-LEE-pee-oh-SEF-ah-lee
Habitat:
Woodlands of North America
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75-70 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 3 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; flat, sloped skull
About Colepiocephale:
There's one thing you can say about the paleontologist who discovered Colepiocephale: he or she had a good sense of humor. In true Three Stooges style, this herbivore's name is Greek for "knucklehead," as befits your typical pachycephalosaur (or bone-headed dinosaur).
Name aside, Colepiocephale is important for being the earliest bonehead discovered to date in North America (Asian pachycephalosaurs, such as Goyocephale, appear to have predated their American cousins by a few million years). Colepiocephale also had an unusual skull compared to other dinosaurs of its kind; it wasn't domed or especially thick, but flat, sloped and roughly triangular.
