Name:
Wannanosaurus (Greek for "Wannan lizard"); pronounced wah-NON-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (80-70 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 2 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; thick skull
About Wannanosaurus:
We may never know for sure, but it seems likely that Wannanosaurus (or a dinosaur very much like it) was the ancestor of all the pachycephalosaurs, or bone-headed dinosaurs. Like most ancestral genuses, this herbivore was very small, and probably scurried beneath the feet of larger, more dangerous plant-eaters and carnivores. The question, of course, is why it had such a thick skull: some paleontologists believe the males head-butted each other for dominance, but for a creature the size of Wannanosaurus, it seems more likely that its bony head was a primitive form of defense.
