1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Dinosaurs

Stygimoloch

By , About.com Guide

A Stygimoloch skull (Wikimedia Commons)

Name:

Stygimoloch (Greek for "demon from the river Styx"); pronounced stig-ih-MOLE-lock

Habitat:

Plains of North America

Historical Period:

Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 10 feet long and 200 pounds

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Unusually large head with bony protuberances

About Stygimoloch:

Stygimoloch (which can be loosely translated as "horned demon from the river of death") wasn't nearly as terrifying as its name implies. A type of pachycephalosaur (meaning "thick-headed lizard"), this dinosaur was actually fairly lightweight, about the size of a fully grown man. It earned its intimidating name because its skull evoked the Christian conception of the devil--all horns and scales, with the slight hint of an evil leer.

Why did Stygimoloch have such prominent horns? As with other pachycephalosaurs, it's thought that this was a sexual adaptation--males would head-butt each other for the right to mate with females. Apart from these displays of dinosaur machismo, though, Stygimoloch was probably fairly harmless, feasting on vegetation and leaving other dinosaurs (and small, cowering mammals) alone.

There's been a new development on the Stygimoloch front: according to new research, ut turns out that this dinosaur may in fact have been a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus!

Explore Dinosaurs

About.com Special Features

A Smarter Future

Tips that will help finance your education, excel in the classroom, and advance your career. More >

How to Ace the GRE

Being well prepared is the first step; here are more essential suggestions. More >

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Dinosaurs
  4. Types of Dinosaurs
  5. Herbivorous Dinosaurs
  6. Stygimoloch - Dinosaur Stygimoloch Characteristics, Behavior and Habitat>

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.