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Tylocephale
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Tylocephale

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Tylocephale (meaning "swollen head") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischians, that lived during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. It is known from a partial skull and associated mandible that were unearthed in 1971 by a Polish-Mongolian Expedition to the Barun Goyot Formation of the Gobi Desert. The specimen was described in 1974 by Polish paleontologists Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska as a new genus and species.

Wikidata facts

Image
Tylocephale holotype skull line.png
Length
1.4
Show 4 more facts
taxon name
Tylocephale
Commons category
Tylocephale
start time
80000000-0
end time
70000000-0
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Article

12 sections
Contents
  • Discovery and naming
  • Description
  • Skull and ornamentation
  • Teeth and mandible
  • Classification
  • Paleobiology
  • Diet
  • Dome function
  • Paleoenvironment
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Tylocephale (meaning "swollen head") is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischians, that lived during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. It is known from a partial skull and associated mandible that were unearthed in 1971 by a Polish-Mongolian Expedition to the Barun Goyot Formation of the Gobi Desert. The specimen was described in 1974 by Polish paleontologists Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska as a new genus and species.

It was average-sized for a pachycephalosaur, reaching in length and in body mass. The skull is triangular in back view, the widest point being at the jugals with an apex at the top of the dome. Tylocephale's dome is the tallest known from a pachycephalosaur. This dome is also unusually thick and rugose on its exterior. Behind the dome, an array of spikes, nodes, and tubercules protrude posteriorly over the neck. The eyebrow ridge was ornamented with small, bony nodules and was thicker than in other genera. Tylocephale is closely related to other Asian pachycephalosaurs, like Homalocephale and Goyocephale, being part of the Old World branch of the group.

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