Dracorex
| Dracorex Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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| The mounted skeleton of Dracorex hogwartsia. | |
Fossil
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| Genus: | Dracorex
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| Dracorex hogwartsia Bakker et al., 2006
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Dracorex is a dinosaur genus of the family Pachycephalosauridae, from the Late Cretaceous of North America. The type (and only) species is Dracorex hogwartsia, meaning "dragon king of Hogwarts". It is known from one nearly complete skull as well as four cervical vertebrae including the atlas, third, ninth and eighth. These were discovered in the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota by three amateur paleontologists from Sioux City, Iowa. The skull was subsequently donated to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis for study in 2004, and was formally described by Bob Bakker and Robert Sullivan in 2006.
Anatomy
Dracorex, an herbivore, had a skull with spiky horns, bumps, and a long muzzle. Unlike some other pachycephalosaurs, Dracorex did not have a domed forehead but was instead flat-headed. The specimen was probably a young adult, but based on ossification of the mid-cervical arch with the centrum, was near maturity. The animal was approximately 10 feet (3 m) long.
In all other respects, Dracorex is identical to the pachycephalosaur Stygimoloch. [citation needed]
Name
The name Dracorex hogwartsia was inspired by young visitors to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis as a tribute to both dragons (Dracorex means "dragon king"), which the animal resembled, as well as the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling (hogwartsia for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a fictional school from the popular series).
I am absolutely thrilled to think that Hogwarts has made a small (claw?) mark upon the fascinating world of dinosaurs. I happen to know more on the subject of paleontology than many might credit, because my eldest daughter was Utahraptor-obsessed and I am now living with a passionate Tyrannosaurus rex-lover, aged three. My credibility has soared within my science-loving family, and I am very much looking forward to reading Dr. Bakker’s paper describing ‘my’ dinosaur, which I can’t help visualising as a slightly less pyromaniac Hungarian Horntail.
References
- Bakker, R. T., Sullivan, R. M., Porter, V., Larson, P. and Saulsbury, S.J. (2006). "Dracorex hogwartsia, n. gen., n. sp., a spiked, flat-headed pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota." in Lucas, S. G. and Sullivan, R. M., eds., Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35, pp. 331–345. [1]
External links
- Children's Museum Profile
- New dino gets name fit for a 'Potter' dragon
- Press photos of Dracorex hogwartsia
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