Fun Homalocephale Facts For Kids

Homalocephale is a Genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs that were characterized by their domed or flat skulls and were omnivores or herbivores that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in North America or Asia. The Genus Homalocephale has only one species, H. calathocercos. They lived around 80-70 million years ago, towards the end of the Mesozoic Era. These dinosaurs were once regarded as the juvenile form of the dinosaurs in the Genus Prenocephale, but the debate around this was settled in 2018 after juvenile specimens of the Prenocephale were recovered from a site, and separated from specimens of Homalocephale.

A Homalocephale's most identifiable feature was its thick, flat skull. Although this skull was thought to have been used for head-butting with other dinosaurs, given its fragility when put under pressure, it was probably used for ramming into the sides of the bodies of other dinosaurs and not their heads, since that would significantly damage the skull. The abdomen and pelvic areas of this dinosaur were also very wide, which could have been useful in protecting its vital organs when it head butted other dinosaurs. Here are some amazing facts about this dinosaur with a flat skull, so keep reading! If you want to read about other amazing dinosaurs, check out our Austroraptor and Ichthyovenator pages.

How do you pronounce 'Homalocephale'?

'Home-ah-loh-sef-ah-lee' is the phonetic pronunciation of Homalocephale.

What type of dinosaur was a Homalocephale?

The Homalocephale belonged to the clade of Pachycephalosauria. Pachycephalosaurs consist of dinosaurs that are either herbivores or omnivores, bipedal, and had a thick skull that could be domed, flat, or wedge shaped. All of them would have been found during the Late Cretaceous period, in the Northern Hemisphere in North America and Asia.

In which geological period did the Homalocephale roam the earth?

Homalocephale lived on Earth 80-70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period, like all other Pachycephalosaurs.

When did the Homalocephale become extinct?

Though it is not known exactly when these dinosaurs vanished from Earth, their extinction could have been caused by the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that occurred about 66 million years ago and erased three quarters of the fauna and flora on Earth. This event is believed to have been caused by the impact of a massive comet or asteroid.

Where did a Homalocephale live?

A Homalocephale, in the Mesozoic Era, was found in what is now known as modern day Mongolia.

What was a Homalocephale's habitat?

Though Mongolia now consists of dry forests, back then it would probably have been a coastal or upland region, and may even have had forests. Thus, the Homacelophale would have had plenty of vegetation to forage for as well as feed on, which would have consisted almost completely of its herbivorous diet.

Who did a Homalocephale live with?

Homalocephale is thought to have lived in small groups with either other of its kind, or coexisted with other herbivorous dinosaur species, but would not have done well with carnivorous species as it was a relatively small sized dinosaur and could get attacked by them.

How long did a Homalocephale live?

Homalocephale is thought to have been able to live up to 80 long years on Earth.

How did they reproduce?

Although not much is known about the reproduction process of the Homalocephale, some believe that these dinosaurs, mostly males of the species, engaged in competitive head butting to impress females. It was also speculated that the broad pelvis region was to facilitate giving birth to live young instead of reproducing by laying eggs like almost all other dinosaur species.

What did a Homalocephale look like?

Homalocephale, along with its type species, H. calathocercos, is described as a relatively small dinosaur. Most of what is known about it are known from the skull of a Homalocephale fossil. Unlike most pachycephalosaurs, it had a thick, flat head. The top of its skull was slightly raised, and the top and sides of the skull had various spikes and bumps. There were also huge eye sockets on the skull, which could be because the dinosaur had large eyes, and sight would have been one of its strongest senses. The rest of the body is known from some specimens of its skeleton, and its abdomen, thorax, and pelvis areas were found to be wider than those of other dinosaur species. Some paleontologists say that this was to protect the dinosaurs' vital organs when they head-butted other dinosaurs. This dinosaur had leaf shaped teeth and a short tail. Its forelimbs were shorter than its hind legs, which has led to the belief that this dinosaur walked on its hind legs but held its back level to the ground.

How many bones did a Homalocephale have?

The number of bones in a Homalocephale is not known, and the dinosaur has only been studied from specimens of a partial skull and skeleton.

How did they communicate?

It is not clear and currently unknown how a Homalocephale used to communicate with others of its kind.

How big was a Homalocephale?

The length of a Homalocephale has been evaluated to be in the range of 5.9-10 ft (1.8-3 m), and the average height would have been 2.9 ft (0.87 m). This dinosaur would have had a similar body length to the Stegoceras, which is also a pachycephalosaurid dinosaur.

How fast could a Homalocephale move?

Although the exact speed of the Homalocephale is not known, it is believed to be a fast runner based on its long hind legs. While running, the dinosaur would hold its back parallel to the ground. Its forelimbs were short, but they could have been used to walk on all fours while foraging for food.

How much did a Homalocephale weigh?

An average Homalocephale dinosaur was estimated to have weighed 95 lb (43 kg), that is, its weight was about 900 times less than another pachycephalosaurid, the Pachycephalosauras.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names for the male and female dinosaurs of this species.

What would you call a baby Homalocephale?

As of now, there are no special names that a baby Homalocephale would have been called.

What did they eat?

Homalocephale is believed to be a herbivore and thus, its diet would have consisted of plant material, seeds, and possibly fruits.

These dinosaurs had a large number of predators that would have fed on them, given that they existed during the same time period. These include Tyrannosaurus rex, Adasaurus, Conchoraptor, and Velicoraptor.

How aggressive were they?

It is not certain whether these dinosaurs were particularly aggressive, but they do belong to a group of dinosaurs that have thick skulls and are known to head butt each other.

Did you know...

When the skull of a Homalocephale was found, it was discovered that it had a large area where the olfactory nerve, the nerve that was used for smelling, would have been. Thus, it has been concluded that this dinosaur would have had a very good sense of smell, which would have probably been helpful in detecting that predators were nearby and enabled them to escape.

Where was the Homalocephale found?

Homalocephale was found in the Nemegt locality of the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia.

Who discovered the Homalocephale?

Although a skeleton of Homalocephale was discovered in 1901, it was named in 1974 by Halszka Osmólska and Teresa Maryańska, its name meaning even head. At the time, it was regarded as a juvenile form of the Prenocephale because of its similar diet and build except that Homalocephale was smaller in size.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! To know more about other dinosaurs, check out our Heterodontosaurus facts or Zigongosaurus facts pages.

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

Main image by Michael B. H. and second image by J. Spencer.