Pachyrhinosaurus | Facts & Information

Pachyrhinosaurus (Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis) is a herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the Mesozoic era in the Upper Cretaceous. Its remains, fossils have been discovered by paleontologists in Alberta (Canada) and Alaska. The name Pachyrhinosaurus means"thick-nosed lizard".

Pachyrhinosaurus belongs to the group of horned dinosaurs that includes the famous Triceratops whose head was 2.5 m long and on the hind side had a shield measuring half the length of the head, with two huge horns.

In Pachyrhinosaurus it would appear that the male had a nasal horn, which was used in fights between males, during mating, or in battles for supremacy in the herd. This Horn had a strange structure, with a thickened, rounded base, and a strong, sharp tip.

The clavicle was prominent on the neck and provided with two curved tips on the edge. Behind each eye was positioned a horn, and the Bone Shield had on the edges a series of Horn formations. Also in the middle of the shield and on the edges were placed several horns in different directions.

Paleontologists believed that the giant nasal Horn somehow resembled that of a rhinoceros today and that it was made of keratin and not bone. That Horn was definitely a perfect weapon against predatory dinosaurs.

The giant horn also balanced the weight of the Shield on the back of the head, so the dinosaur kept its head upright. Pachyrhinosaurus was considered a follower of the massive Centrosaurus, which also had an enormous shield on the back of the head and a huge horn above the muzzle, reaching 7 m in just two or three years.

Pachyrhinosaurus Food

It was concluded that these animals lived at high altitudes, in wooded areas, moving in large herds traveling thousands of kilometers to find their favorite food made up of plants and leaves.