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Stegoceras is one of the more common and better known pachycephalosaurs,†‬and one that seems to have had a range that extended from South west/central Canada to the south western states of the USA.†‬The genus however seems to have been quite a bit smaller than its more famous relative†‬Pachycephalosaurus.
Like with all pachycephalosaurs,†‬the skull of Stegoceras is noted for having extreme thickening which†‬would have resulted in a dome-like structure on top of the skull.†‬In Stegoceras the bone that would have made up the dome would be around†‬seventy-five millimetres at its maximum thickness.†‬The eyes are also interesting to note†‬as the eye sockets would have faced forwards,†‬which means that Stegoceras would have also had a fairly good degree of stereoscopic vision,†‬meaning depth perception.†‬Stegoceras was also once noted as the only ornithischian dinosaur to have gastralia†(‬belly ribsâ€)‬,†‬however these have now been re-examined and realised to be ossified tendons.
In†‬1983†‬a species of Stegoceras named S.†‬browni was established as a distinct genus named Ornatotholus.†‬This was noted as a flat headed pachycephalosur,†‬however it now seems that the flat headed forms of pachycephalosaurs are actually the juvenile and under developed forms of the dome-headed genera which are adults.†‬Ornatotholus is now regarded as a juvenile of and hence synonym to the Stegoceras type species S.†‬validum.
Also like with other pachycephalosaurs Stegoceras was once popularly thought to be a†‘‬head butter‒‬,†‬the thick dome of the skull being used to deal out and absorb impacts.†‬This is not that widely accepted anymore however with some studies suggesting the bone of the skull would have actually not been strong enough to repeatedly absorb hits,†‬others suggesting that it was not of a correct shape to maximise impact area.†‬Other still suggest that†‘‬flank butting‒‬,†‬where the head was used to give out impacts to the sides of animal would have been more likely given the apparent fragility of the skull.
Stegoceras is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 77.5 to 74 million years ago. The first specimens from Alberta, Canada, were described in 1902, and the type species Stegoceras validum was based on these remains. Stegoceras was the prime example of a pachycephalosaur ("thick-headed lizard"), a family of ornithischian, plant-eating, two-legged dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous period, characterized by their extremely thick skulls. This otherwise sleekly built herbivore had a noticeable dome on its head made of almost-solid bone; paleontologists speculate that Stegoceras males held their heads and necks parallel to the ground, build-up ahead of speed, and rammed each other on the noggins as hard as they could.
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