© Berislav Krzic
- Type of dinosaur:
- pachycephalosaur
- Length:
- 4.0m
- Diet:
- herbivorous
- When it lived:
- Late Cretaceous, 66 million years ago
- Found in:
- USA
Dracorex is a pachycephalosaur from the end of the Cretaceous Period which was identified after the discovery of a spectacular skull. The skull lacks the dome characteristic of this group and instead has spikes and frills reminiscent of a mythical dragon. After studying the skull, scientists named the species Dracorex hogwartsia, the 'dragon king of Hogwarts', after the fictional Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. Some scientists think the skull may actually belong to a young Pachycephalosaurus.
Taxonomic details
- Taxonomy:
- Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Neornithischia, Cerapoda, Marginocephalia, Pachycephalosauria, Pachycephalosauridae
- Named by:
- Bakker, Sullivan, Porter, Larson and Saulsbury (2006)
- Type species:
- hogwartsia
