Acrotholus

Evans et al., 2013 ACK-rho-THO-luhs

From Greek 'akros' meaning 'highest' and 'tholos' meaning 'dome', referring to its prominent domed skull.

85.7–83.6 million years ago Santonian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Acrotholus is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Santonian of the late Cretaceous, in the Milk River Formation of Canada. The type species, A. audeti, was named after Roy Audet, who allowed access to Audet's ranch, which led to the discovery of the species. The discovery of this specimen lead to several new revelations in the fossil records questioning the preservation of small-bodied organisms along with the evolution of early pachycephalosaurs. The iconic cranial dome found on Acrotholus makes it one of the earliest indisputable known members of the pachycephalosaur family. Like others of its clade, Acrotholus was a bipedal herbivore characterized by a dome-shaped head. The dome had often been associated with intra-species combat, although the exact methods of contact have been debated.

Diagnosis

  1. Ovoid dome in dorsal view in which the width of the frontoparietal dome is less than two thirds its total length
  2. Distinct midline ridge on the dorsal surface of the posteromedian process of the parietal

Species

Acrotholus audeti Evans et al., 2013

Type species

Named for Roy Audet, who granted access to Audet's ranch, leading to the discovery of the species.

Holotype
TMP 2008.045.0001 , Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology
Material
Nearly complete frontoparietal dome
Horizon
Deadhorse Coulee Member, Milk River Formation, Santonian, Late Cretaceous , 85.7–83.6 million years ago
Locality
Roy Audet's ranch, 1.5 km east of Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada

References

  1. Evans, D. C.; Schott, R. K.; Larson, D. W.; Brown, C. M.; Ryan, M. J. (2013). The oldest North American pachycephalosaurid and the hidden diversity of small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs. Nature Communications 4(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/ncomms2749 evans2013b