Fun Goyocephale Facts For Kids

If you ever walk into a Museum of Natural History and see a dinosaur with a 'decorated head', then you've seen the Goyocephale. What do you know about the Goyocephale?

In recent years, there has been much discussion about the classification and genus of this species, mostly due to new research. But while their classification and genus remain debated, their defining feature remains the same - a protrusion on their head that looks like a crown.

Shared across their genus, this feature has helped them stand out in research and common knowledge. Primarily herbivores, you would not believe it if you ever saw them!

With their features (hind legs, a protruded head, claw-like hands), research into these creatures can scare anyone. But they are just harmless herbivores

When you learn about the Goyocephale, prehistoric wildlife becomes a lot more interesting! So if you are looking to see and research more facts about the Goyocephale including information about the description, features, and time of the dinosaurs, then you are in the right place! You can also learn all about other dinosaurs like the Austroraptor and Yinlong.

Goyocephale Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Goyocephale'?

If you ever wondered about the Goyocephale name origin or thinking about what the Goyocephale name means, then it's much simpler than what you believe! The word Goyocephale (meaning 'elegant or decorated head') is pronounced as 'Goy-o-sef-a-lay'. This name was given due to its description, particularly its features of having a decorated head.

What type of dinosaur was a Goyocephale?

Goyocephale (Goyocephale lattimorei gen et. sp. n.) is a theropod. Belonging to the Pachycephalosaurs ornithischian genus, it is no longer extant. This means that it is now extinct.

What geological period did the Goyocephale roam the earth?

The new flat-headed Goyocephale (Goyocephale lattimorei gen et. sp. n.) roamed the earth in the late Cretaceous period, approximately 76 million years ago.

When did the Goyocephale become extinct?

This dinosaur, with its interesting features, lived in the time of the Cretaceous era. Since they existed in the late stages of this time, they are assumed to have been extinct by the mid-Paleogene era.

Where did a Goyocephale live?

The herbivorous Goyocephale lattimorei lived in the grasslands or forests, and fossils have been discovered in areas like Arkhangai in Mongolia. Since Mongolia is a harsh habitat, it is assumed that they survived on very little vegetation and water, and most did not see their full life cycles and perished early.

Some scientists attribute this harsh habitat as one of the reasons for their extinction.

What was a Goyocephale's habitat?

The Goyocephale species of the Pachycephalosauridae family lived in the late Cretaceous period and were populated in Asia. It lived in a terrestrial environment. This environment was not a very welcoming one, with mostly desert, sparse vegetation, and mostly desert plants available for food.

Who did a Goyocephale live with?

One of the most bizarre Pachycephalosaurs was the flat-headed Goyocephale. Goyocephale (Dinosauria Ornithischia) mostly lived solitary. This could be since there was such intense competition for the existing little resources, that a group life simply was not sustainable for this species.

How long did a Goyocephale live?

Goyocephale dinosaurs (Dinosauria Ornithischia) named by Perle and known to live in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous survived 81 to 75 million years ago. Due to a lack of research and dating, it is difficult to predict their lifespan.

How did they reproduce?

Goyocephale pachycephalosaur Ornithischia of the upper Cretaceous of Mongolia Acta Palaeontologica, described by Perle, were oviparous and reproduced by laying eggs. During breeding seasons, Goyocephale dinosaur (flat head) apparently had head-butting competitions in which males competed for territories and female companions.

Goyocephale Fun Facts

What did a Goyocephale look like?

Both mandibles, the skull roof, a portion of the occiput, section of the braincase area, the posterior skull (same dimension as the holotype scalps), and the maxilla is known from Goyocephale.

Many little bony spikes on the posterior margin of the skull roof, at the edge of the squamosal vertebrae, would have formed the base of little horns in life.

The Goyocephale teeth inside the premaxilla get bigger as you move backward, with the last one being the biggest. The sacrum consists of four incomplete and weakly fused vertebrae.

A length-wise hump with a groove runs along the middle of the second sacral centrum's ventral side. The sacrum was found articulated with the first and second caudal vertebrae.

The ilium bone has a classic pachycephalosaur shape. The tibia has a pachycephalosaur design, and there are no articulated tarsal bones.

The flat skull of the Goyocephale is well-known. This could imply that the Goyocephale holotype specimen was a young individual, or it could show that Goyocephale was much more primitive in appearance. Only future discoveries though could provide a more certain solution.

How many bones did a Goyocephale have?

To date, only one skeleton has been discovered for this holotype specimen. The fossil is not complete, with incomplete parts of the skull, teeth, broken postcranial material, mandibles, and just a few other parts of a fossil present.

Since there is no accountability for the complete skeleton of these cretaceous dinosaurs, it is impossible to deduce how many bones they had.

How did they communicate?

Due to a lack of research into this animal, it is not possible to determine how they communicated.

How big was a Goyocephale?

Th eGoyocephale size wildlife was about 6 ft (1.8 m).

How fast could a Goyocephale move?

With their legs and light body, we can assume that they moved very fast.

How much did a Goyocephale weigh?

The flat-headed Goyocephale weight measured about 22-88 lb (10–40 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and female of Goyocephale (Ornithischia) known to habitat in Mongolia, don't have any specific name.

What would you call a baby Goyocephale?

 There is no special title for the offspring of Goyocephale (Ornithischia).

What did they eat?

A pachycephalosaur (Ornithischia, Dinosauria) with a flat skull, mostly eats plants in the upper Cretaceous of Mongolia Acta Palaeontologica. The Goyocephale diet was herbivore or omnivore.

How aggressive were they?

This species of dinosaurs was named by Perle (Osmólska, 1982), and the obtained fossil was incomplete (skull and postcranial Goyocephale skeleton). They were not aggressive animals. Instead, the big, canine type of teeth was most likely used to deter other animals. Some prehistoric deer species and heterodontosaurid dinosaurs also exhibited this behavior.

Did you know?

The flat-headed Goyocephale seems to be a primitive Pachycephalosauria that merged with Homalocephale, other Pachycephalosaurs with a flat skull roof.

Although the two have multiple similarities, Goyocephale is distinguishable from Homalocephale from its overall size.

On the other hand, many later phylogenetic analyses have found Homalocephalidae being a paraphyletic family, or as successive branches primitive of Prenocephale and within Pachycephalosauridae.

Why is it called Goyocephale?

Perle, Teresa Maryaska, and Osmólska (1982) first described it as a horribly mutilated skeleton that included most of the skull, part of the head region, and hindlimb, a little of the pelvic girdle, and also some vertebrae. The remains were given the name Goyocephale lattimorei by Perle et al.

Goyocephale name is originally from the Mongolian Goyo, which means 'decorated', and the Old Greek kephale, which means 'the head'. Owen Lattimore is honored by the species name.

Is the Goyocephale dinosaur a herbivore?

Goyocephale (Ornithischia) was a herbivore species.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Also, learn more about some other creatures from our Chungkingosaurus facts, or Ichthyovenator facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Goyocephale coloring pages.

Second image by Jorge Jaramillo.