Name:
Homalocephale (Greek for "level-headed"); pronounced HOE-ma-low-SEFF-ah-lee
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (80-70 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 5 feet long and 100 pounds
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Broad, flat skull; bumps on snout
About Homalocephale:
The skull of this pachycephalosaur has fueled the debate among paleontologists about the behavior of bone-headed dinosaurs in general. Homalocephale's broad, flat skull wasn't especially hard or rigid; rather, it was made of porous bone interlaced with blood vessels, meaning two males head-butting each other at top speed would likely have killed one another.
So for what other reason could Homalocephale (and other pachycephalosaurs) have evolved such thick skulls? Theory B is that they used their noggins to butt away others of their species--not on their heads, but on their softer flanks--or even to ram and drive away approaching predators.
