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Stegoceras

By , About.com Guide

Stegoceras (Wikimedia Commons)

Name:

Stegoceras (Greek for "roof horn"); pronounced STEG-oh-SER-as

Habitat:

Forests of western North America

Historical Period:

Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 6 feet long and 120 pounds

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Light build; extremely thick skull

About Stegoceras:

Stegoceras is a good example of a pachycephalosaur--an infraorder of dinosaurs characterized by their extremely thick skulls. This otherwise sleekly built herbivore had a noticeable dome on its head built of solid bone; paleontologists believe pairs of Stegocerases would hold their heads and necks parallel to the ground, build up speed, and ram each other on the noggins as hard as they could.

The sensible question is: Why? Extrapolating backwards from present-day animals, it's likely that Stegoceras males head-butted each other for the right to mate with females. This theory is supported by the fact that researchers have discovered two distinct types of Stegoceras skulls, one of which is thicker than the other and presumably belonged to the males of the species.

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