Oldest dome-headed dinosaur discovered

Paleontologists have identified the most complete and oldest known
pachycephalosaur, a discovery that pushes back the origin of
dome-headed dinosaurs by at least 14 million years


Fossil: Named Z. rinpoche,
meaning “precious one”
in Tibetan, found
in Gobi Desert

RUSSIA
Ulaanbaatar
MONGOLIA
CHINA
400km
250 miles


5 cm


Specimen
has nearly
complete skull
and first record of
pachycephalosaur
hand and full tail

Dome-shaped head
thought to either provide
means for self-defence
or used to attract mate
or fend off
competition


MESOZOIC ERA		Dinosaurs	CENOZOIC
Age of dinosaurs	wiped out	ERA

JURASSIC 	CRETACEOUS 		Early humans
200 million	150 	100 	50
years ago


Z. rinpoche dates to 115-108 million years ago, pre-dating
previous records of dome-headed dinosaurs


Pictures: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Masaya Hattori, G. Masukawa
Sources: Nature, British Geological Survey
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