Gravitholus
Gravitholus (meaning 'heavy dome') was a genus of dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage, around 75 million years ago). It was a pachycephalosaur, a type of dinosaur with a thick skull made of hardened bone. It lived in what is now Alberta, Canada, and was described in 1979 by W. P. Wall and Peter Galton.
| Gravitholus | |
|---|---|
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| Skull TMP 72.27.01 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Pachycephalosauridae |
| Genus: | †Gravitholus Wall & Galton, 1979 |
| Species: | †G. albertae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gravitholus albertae Wall & Galton, 1979 | |
The type species is Gravitholus albertae. There is some debate amongst paleontologists as to whether the animal represents a distinct genus, or if it may be synonymous with Stegoceras. Recent publications indicate it may be a valid genus.
References
- Wall, W.P. & Galton, P.M. (1979). "Notes on pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia) from North America, with comments on their status as ornithopods". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 16:1176-1186
- Maryanska, T., Chapman, R.E., and Weishampel, D.B. (2004). "Pachycephalosauria". In D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson & H. Osmólska (eds.), The Dinosauria (second edition). University of California Press, Berkeley 464-477
External links
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