Open Paleo

Texacephale

Longrich et al., 2010 tek-sa-SEH-fuh-lee Nomen dubium

From 'Texas', the U.S. state where the fossil was found, and Greek 'kephale' meaning 'head', in reference to its place of discovery.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Texacephale is a dubious genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils come from the Aguja Formation of Big Bend National Park, in Texas, and were described in 2010 by Longrich, Sankey and Tanke. The generic name means Texas + "head" (kephale in Greek) in reference to its place of discovery, and the specific name langstoni honors Wann Langston. Wick and Lehman (2024) suggested on morphometric grounds that the holotype is probably an adult Stegoceras.

Species

Texacephale langstoni Longrich et al., 2010 Nomen dubium

Type species

Named for Wann Langston, honored in connection with the study of this pachycephalosaurid from Texas.

Holotype
LSUMNS 20010 , Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science (LSUMNS)
Material
Fused frontoparietals.
Horizon
lower Alto Shale Member, Aguja Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
WPA-1, Texas, United States

References

  1. Longrich, N. R.; Sankey, J.; Tanke, D. (2010). Texacephale langstoni, a new genus of pachycephalosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the upper Campanian Aguja Formation, southern Texas, USA. Cretaceous Research 31(2): 274-284. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2009.12.002 longrich2010b
  2. Lehman, T. M. (2010). Pachycephalosauridae from the San Carlos and Aguja Formations (Upper Cretaceous) of West Texas, and observations of the frontoparietal dome. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(3): 786-798. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724631003763532

    Finds all three diagnostic characters of Texacephale expressed in specimens referred to other pachycephalosaur taxa.

    lehman2010a
  3. Jasinski, S. E.; Sullivan, R. M. (2011). Re-evaluation of pachycephalosaurids from the Fruitland-Kirtland transition (Kirtlandian, late Campanian), San Juan Basin, New Mexico, with a description of a new species of Stegoceras and a reassessment of Texacephale langstoni. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 53: 202-215. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

    Found two of the three diagnostic characters in other pachycephalosaurids and the pedicel a product of erosion; called it a nomen dubium and its holotype Pachycephalosauridae indeterminate.

    jasinski2011a
  4. Williamson, T. E.; Brusatte, S. L. (2016). Pachycephalosaurs (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian) of New Mexico: A reassessment of Stegoceras novomexicanum. Cretaceous Research 62: 29-43. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.01.012

    Agrees with Jasinski and Sullivan (2011) that it is a nomen dubium.

    williamson2016a
  5. Wick, S. L.; Lehman, T. M. (2024). A rare 'flat-headed' pachycephalosaur (Dinosauria: Pachycephalosauridae) from West Texas, USA, with morphometric and heterochronic considerations. Geobios 86: 89-106. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.006

    Suggested on morphometric grounds that the holotype is probably an adult Stegoceras.

    wick2024a
  6. Woodruff, D. C.; Horner, J. R.; Goodwin, M. B.; Evans, D. C. (2025). The first pachycephalosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation: effects of the Western Interior Seaway on North American pachycephalosaurid evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 205(2). Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf087

    Excluded it from its phylogenetic analysis because the holotype is taphonomically distorted, and questioned its validity.

    woodruff2025a