Fun Texacephale Facts For Kids
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Dinosaur specimens continue to be discovered.
This article sheds light on a new genus of pachycephalosaurid (bone-headed dinosaur). Named Texacephale, this species was found in Texas.
Dinosaurs pique everyone's curiosity, and paleontologists, through their Cretaceous research, feed our appetites. At the Big Bend National Park, Texas, a small herbivorous dinosaur was accidentally discovered.
This was the Texan head, a discovery that helped support a theory that the dinosaurs of the northern US and Canada were quite different from those found in the southern US. Even though only the skull of the genus from the pachycephalosaurid family was found on-site, it was the first among the bones of other ceratopsians.
The solid bone above the brain, which is a unique feature of this dinosaur family, helped in its identification. The bone on the head could have been used to fight opponents, just like antelopes lock horns.
Read on to learn more interesting and fun facts about this small dinosaur.
Texacephale Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Texacephale'?
Texacephale is pronounced as 'Tex-ah-sef-a-lay'.
What type of dinosaur was a Texacephale?
Texacephale is a new genus of pachycephalosaurid (bone-headed dinosaur). It is considered a basal member of this family of dinosaurs.
In which geological period did the Texacephale roam the Earth?
Texacephale roamed the Earth during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous time period (83.6 - 72.1 million years ago).
When did the Texacephale become extinct?
Texacephale is likely to have become extinct by the Late Cretaceous period.
Where did Texacephale live?
According to a study, Texacephale inhabited a coastal floodplain environment that was a densely vegetated marsh.
What was the Texacephale's habitat?
The fossils of Texacephale were discovered from the Aguja Formation of Big Bend National Park in Texas.
About 442.91-935.03 ft (135-285 m) thick, the Aguja Formation was characterized by sandstones, thin lignite beds, and so on, a representative of the depositional environments of floodplains. Therefore, online today where Texas is characterized by a dry environment, the Upper Campanian Aguja Formation reveals an environment that was wet.
Therefore, the Upper Campanian Aguja Formation at the Big Bend National Park had a number of distributary channels, levees, crevasse splays, marshes, and bays.
Who did the Texacephale live with?
Texacephale may have lived with other ancient creatures found from the Aguja Formation, Upper Cretaceous. This includes Pseudosuchians, Ornithischians, Saurischians, Turtles, and invertebrates like Ammonites.
At the same site, the other specimen that was recovered was of an Agujaceratops, a ceratopsian. This shows that at least the Texacephale would have coexisted with the Agujaceratops. Other species fossils found around include that of hadrosaurs and nodosaurs.
How long did a Texacephale live?
The average lifespan of a Texacephale is unknown.
How did they reproduce?
The Texacephale's reproductive behavior and cycle are unknown. Because dinosaurs are oviparous, which means they reproduce by laying eggs, it is likely that the Texacephale did as well.
Texacephale Fun Facts
What did the Texacephale look like?
The Texacephale was a dog-sized pachycephalosaurid. The pachycephalosaurids are a family that is characterized by an unusual bony head. The Texacephale also had a solid bone measuring 4.57 in (115 mm) just above the brain. The dome was conservative and frill-less, and the skull was asymmetrical.
Some researchers pointed out that the head bone acted as a way of species recognition, while others considered it being used as a weapon. The dinosaur's frontoparietal dome shares many similarities to the skull found of Stegoceras validum. However, certain features like the positioning of the cerebral fossa reveal how the Texacephale was unique.
How many bones did a Texacephale have?
Only the incomplete frontoparietal dome of the Texacephale was recovered from the Aguja Formation, Upper Cretaceous period. This was not enough to provide a complete bone profile for the new genus of pachycephalosaurids.
How did they communicate?
The communication style of the Texacephale has yet to be discerned. However, it has been stated that the Texacephale's head bone acted as a signaling device.
How big was the Texacephale?
The Texacephale's exact size remains a mystery, given the bare minimum fossil evidence. However, as it is classed as a new species of pachycephalosaurids, it is assumed the bipedal herbivore was about the size of a dog.
How fast could a Texacephale move?
The Texacephale was a bipedal pachycephalosaurid. The speed by which this dinosaur used to move around had yet to be ascertained.
How much did a Texacephale weigh?
The weight of a Texacephale has not been determined due to incomplete fossils.
What were the male and female names of the species?
The male and female of this new species would be referred to as adults.
What would you call a baby Texacephale?
A baby Texacephale would be referred to as a juvenile.
How aggressive were they?
The solid bone on the Texacephale's head was believed to be used in head-butting. The Texacephale may have engaged in head-butting in territorial fights or battles for potential mates.
Some researchers also state that the Texas head may have been used casually every day as part of pushing matches, flank butting, or species recognition. This aggressive behavior of the new genus has been contested by many paleontologists.
Did you know…
Very little is known about Pachycephalosaurids, as much of the evidence of this family comes from incomplete skull fragments. This family was believed to be the last to evolve in the dinosaur world.
Most of these fossils have been recovered from Canada. With regard to Texacephale, only one fossil has been found for this new genus of Pachycephalosaurids in Southern Texas.
The Texacephale is a herbivore; hence it does not engage in predation.
Very little is actually known about the feeding nature of this new genus of Pachycephalosaurids. Therefore, it is difficult to state whether they are greedy as a dinosaur species. The special bone on their head was believed to be used in territorial fights, so the Texacephale may have been possessive of their own territories, mates, and so on.
The holotype of the Texacephale is referred to as LSUMNS 20010, and it includes fused frontoparietal.
The name of the new genus, Texacephale, was derived from Texas where the specimen was found, and 'cephale', which is Greek for 'head'. The species type- Texacephale langstoni, was named in honor of Wann Langston, a paleontologist known for his extensive Cretaceous research in the Big Bend National Park.
Originally, Darren Tanke (Royal Tyrrell Museum) discovered the bone debris of the new genus when on a work holiday in Big Bend National Park.
*We've been unable to source an image of Texacephale and have used an image of dracorex instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Texacephale, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com
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