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‘Teen’ Pachycephalosaur Butts Into Fossil Record

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Paleontologists Discover Earliest Known Dome-Headed Dinosaur in Excellent Condition

Smithsonian Magazine
“If you want to imagine a pachycephalosaur skull, think of half a bowling ball supported by toothpicks,” study co-author Lindsay Zanno, a paleontologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, tells National Geographic’s Riley Black. “Now imagine dropping that in a river. What do you think will survive the journey? Most likely just the dome.” And while some pachycephalosaurs grew to be large, she adds that many were small with fragile skeletons, making it even harder for their remains to stand the test of time.
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Sep 19, 2025

Dome-headed Dinosaur Fossil Is Oldest of Its Type Ever Discovered

BBC
Lindsay Zanno, a palaeontologist at North Carolina State University, who is a co-author of the study, said: “Pachycephalosaurs are iconic dinosaurs, but they’re also rare and mysterious. “Before Zavacephale, our record of pachycephalosaurs was almost exclusively limited to their indestructible domes,” Lindsay explains. But she added: “The well-preserved skeleton of Zavacephale is helping us fill in the blanks with its reduced forelimbs, tiny hands and stomach stones for grinding food.”
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Faculty, Students Shine at International Conference on Paleoceanography

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Sep 18, 2025

Dome-headed Dinosaurs Are Rare. Scientists Just Found the Most Remarkable One Yet.

National Geographic
One reason for the relative rarity of pachycephalosaur skeletal parts beyond their skulls is just how sturdy their domes were. “If you want to imagine a pachycephalosaur skull, think of half a bowling ball supported by tooth picks,” says North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences paleontologist and study author Lindsay Zanno. “Now imagine dropping that in a river. What do you think will survive the journey? Most likely just the dome."

Sep 17, 2025

‘Teen’ Pachycephalosaur Butts Into Fossil Record

A young pachycephalosaur provides answers to questions about what they might have done with those cranial domes.