Dinosaur Bone Heads: Examining the Pachycephalosaurs

[@cro-magnoncarol4017]

Pachycephalosaurs are actually pretty well represented in Dino media compared to other small herbivores The Land Before Time, Dinosaur Planet, Ice Age Franchise, Disney's Dinosaur, The Isle, Path of Titans just to name a few.

[@gattycroc8073]

I know and their still one of my favorites.

[@dr.polaris6423]

I had completely forgotten about the Land Before Time and other animated dinosaur related media when writing this!

[@dudotolivier6363]

​@@dr.polaris6423Well, you was wrong... and right in the same time ! Pachycephalosaurs are a very well-know groups of dinosaurs extremely well depicted in media, almost as represented and famous than T-rex and all the first foreground notorious species (Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Pteranodon, Allosaurus , Spinosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Diplodocus, Brontosaurus etc...). But the links with a great 90% of all of these medias, including the ones mentionned upper, is that they mostly, if just only, display, use and show Pachycephalosaurus ! Him and only him, the most famous and well-known of the family. And barely, if just never, all the others. Pachycephalosaurs are mostly known to the public by Pachycephalosaurus and it's all. There are others members that are reasonably known to the public, but in a lesser degree, with their more famous relative making shadows at them. These species are Prenocephale, Stegoceras and Homalocephale. So, unlike the Ceratopsian, Tyrannosaurs, Spinosaurid, Sauropods, Orthnithomimosaurs, Stegosaurs or Ankylosaurs, which are all know to the public by several highly Known members at the same time. Pachys in the others end bases almost their entire notoriety on a single member... Which yes, is understandable giving that Pachycephalosaurus is the most preserved member in terms of fossils we have currently, but I would wish we have more depictions of the others members that managed, as apparitios, to be so strong and iconic, like in Prehistoric Planet, that they became famous like Deinocheirus over the years.

[@andythegoatman694]

They were asses in the land before time i remember thinking they were very rude dinosaurs at first😂

[@gattycroc8073]

I really hope the giraffe equivalent of Pachycephalosaurs aka Discokeryx gets a proper depiction in some form of media.

[@playernotfound9489]

i just looked that up and im traumatized

[@TotallyACat]

My all-time favourite Dinosaur! It absolutely terrified me in Land Before Time!

[@obambagaming1467]

I heard on KZbin that apparently, when a genus is declared invalid, the genus' name cannot be used for another species, even if its invalid (it apparently can still be used if its in another kingdom, even if its still valid), which would be quite sad, since Dracorex is a really awesome name

[@dynojackal1911]

That's why Livyatan melvillei couldn't be named Leviathan because that had been given to a horrendously inaccurate, mishmash skeleton of a mastodon. Look it up.

[@selc2264]

I always imagined these as old balding grandpa's with horseshoe haircuts 😅

[@dr.polaris6423]

I can see that actually 😂

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

Thank you very much for the tour of these critters. I look forward to learning a lot more about monotremes.

[@aaronlaluzerne6639]

Thank you for doing a dinosaur video. Hope you get around to doing coelosaurs (the group with coelophisis), prosauropods, sauropods, ankylosaurs, the group of herbivore dinosaurs with the extremely large claws, iguanadontes/iguanadontians, hadrosaurs, zuritops, ceratops, raptors, spinosaurs, allosaurs, and tyrannosaurs.

[@HassanMohamed-jy4kk]

Hey Dr.Polaris, right after the evolution and the history of the Monotremes, why don’t you also get to make a suggestion to create the KZbin Videos Shows about the evolution and the history of the Extinct Prehistoric Giant Predatory Birds called the Teratorns in the next couple of weeks to think about that one coming up next?!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍👍👍

[@altanativeftw2625]

I am excited for the monotremes! The ending is always my favourite part of the video because it builds my anticipation for the next topic, and because monotremes are so mysterious, this one was particularly exciting. What will it be after monotremes? Procyonids? Dasyuromorphs? Pigs? Owls? Pangolins? I cannot wait not just for the next video but the next reveal too!

[@thedarkmasterthedarkmaster]

It's been quite a while since you covered dinosaurs. If I may ask what happened to the speculative evolution series you did? Did you do anything with them in that speculative project it's been a while since I rewatched them Also yes such an underestimated group it's probably because they are smaller than many other groups

[@befeuchter7771]

I also wonder if alter earth will be continued. I quite like the series

[@wallace2286]

It is on his DeviantArt page he’s now on Miocene Asia the reason why he hasn’t been posting anymore on KZbin is because of three things he can’t properly show off all the animals he has in the setting, the comparative lack of views, and being overall in his own opinion being amateurish

[@kendra31]

I feel like i remember pachys being in the land before time series, so ive always been aware of/appreciated them. Dr. Polaris would you consider making a video about Hadrosaurs? I saw something recently about one being discovered the size of a t-rex!

[@dynojackal1911]

Learning about real-world Pachcephalosaurs is fun. Some of us still want more of your Ankylotarsiform pachycelphosaurs, Novoceratopsians, and Hippogryphoideans from your Alter-Earth video series. Feed the masses with Spec Evo material.

[@professorsimosuchus7954]

Video #3 asking anyone to make a video on mesonychians (Great video btw)

[@wallace2286]

Great video as always, I like how you cover broad families of animals instead of individual genera as it’s far more informative overall than the sort of cookie lessons about individual species other yt channels do. Don’t get me wrong they can be good but I get far more out of this than those sorts of videos. On a slightly unrelated note how is alter earth doing? It’s been quite a while since you updated your DeviantArt page should we expect Miocene Asia to be wrapped up soon or will it be a little while longer? Anyways have a good one

[@dr.polaris6423]

Thanks for the comment! I’ve been quite busy with my academic work recently so I haven’t had much spare time to work on Alter Earth. However, I’ll be uploading the Late Miocene Asia write up quite soon.

[@MrYvax]

Could you please do a video about Euparkerya??

[@WaterShowsProd]

I remember being quite excited to see a pachycephalosaur in Lost World. They do seem to be a bit more popular since that appearance than they were before, but have still yet to take their place next to their iconic neighbours.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

One of my favorite dinosaurs and of course, that pachycephalosaurus would be lovers and fighters they would have to fend for themselves against predators, and each other and display

[@ingenuised]

There was a study in 2020 that found heterodontosaurids to be paraphyletic basal pachycephalosaurs. This could mean they are the oldest ornithiscian lineages.

[@dr.polaris6423]

I did see this when doing research for the video, but decided not to include it as this hypothesis has not received much support.

[@RafaCB0987]

One of my favorite dinosaurs

[@tedtalk9999]

Why do juvenile Pachycephalosaurus have horns?

[@wcdeich4]

Awesome, can't wait for the monotreme video :)

[@altanativeftw2625]

Neither can I! Such a mysterious clade of mammals from such a remote corner of the globe.

[@Casmaniac]

I did enjoy this episode thank you very much

[@joeshmoe8345]

Great, thanks for sharing with us.

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

Ah yes, if "bonk" had a physical form. Also the Pokemon Rampardos is based on this species

[@__-be1gk]

I was always under the impression that pachycephalosaurs were one of the most famous non-jurassic park dinosaurs

[@alioramus1637]

When i see paleoart of pachycephalosaurs they are both depicted with filaments inferred from more basal ornithischians or depicted scaly. I really wonder how they would have looked in life.

[@edwinreveron870]

Please make a video of Panthera Shawi, and their evolution into common leopards, Mosbach lions, today's lions, cave lions, American lions, and jaguars..

[@TheTBearington]

So stoked for the monotremes!

[@andreasstavrinou6219]

My #1 favorite Ornthischisan's Species are as followed the Basal Thyreophoran and the Stegosaurs with Ceratopsians in #2 place and the Pachy's coming in#3 and the # the Dryosaurids and the Silesaurid Pisanosaur.

[@SabesanSiddharth]

excellent Information , keep it up .

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I was thinking about it my version of walking with dinosaurs and set up a mammal feasting on t. Rex eggs I was thinking that pachycephalosaurus would probably eat eggs even rotten eggs but then again it’s probably a dumb idea, but do you guys agree with

[@edwinreveron870]

Can you please make a video of the evolution of Panthera palaeosinensis, into Panthera blytheae, snow leopards, Panthera zdanskyi, and tigers...

[@miguellilly8859]

you should do a video on Potamotherium and there relatives

[@tobiasedwards2643]

Does that mean that Dracorex is still thought of as a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus whereas Stygimoloch may have been it’s own genus or at least species of Pachycephalosaurus?

[@dr.polaris6423]

Yep that’s what some recent studies have suggested.

[@tobiasedwards2643]

@@dr.polaris6423 But wouldn’t that mean that if Stygimoloch was it’s own genus/species it would still look like a “Dracorex” that’s just starting to grow a dome?

[@Kitsaplorax]

Could any of these grapple standing like kangaroos? Looking forward to the monotreme video. They don't get nearly enough attention.

[@icewink7100]

What does it mean for teeth to be “leaf shaped”? Leaves are one of the most morphologically variable structures in the world!

[@honderdzeventien]

10.04 why is there a Ferengi in the scale measurement graph?

[@TrajGreekFire]

Prenocphale was also in Dinosaur Planet

[@julianshepherd2038]

Thems dragons, skinhead dragons

[@gretchenwetzel7313]

So, on prehistoric planet, the British-accented experts were pronouncing this “pachy-keff-alosaurs” so I rather expected you to be saying that instead of the soft C. What’s correct? Is that a hyper-regional pronunciation or something?

[@joakos1122]

I wonder what would win in a ramming battle a pachycephalosaur or musk ox

[@ShadowLugia141]

I’d honestly be very wary of any theories or studies put forward by Horner as he’s shown time and time again to be unreliable and even deceptive in some cases

[@The_PokeSaurus]

Agreed.

[@RokuroCarisu]

While I can see Dracorex growing into Stygimoloch, the adult form of both being Pachycephalosaurus seems a bit of a stretch to me. It would mean that this was the only vertebrate that grew horns as a juvenile only to lose them again as an adult.

[@Anuchan]

Flank butting? Sounds more like a trending dance on tiktok than a fighting technique.

[@bencake28]

Pachys! Yeeeeeeeeees! The horses 🐎 of the late Cretaceous. Riding one of these guys must be a great fun. Cause they are much powerful than modern horses, imo. 😉 I also assume that we will have to eliminate a few species one day. This does not only apply to the "Pachys". Just look at nature today and you can observe what sexual dimorphism does to males. 🦌 The differences from a baby to a child, a teenager and finally an adult are often striking. Not to mention the difference between females and males. 😉 I was very happy about this video and thank you very much for it. 🦖

[@memofromessex]

Fantastic

[@brianedwards7142]

I didn't realise how small most of these animals were. Even if they did butt heads we aren't talking about many newtons of force.

[@bartolomeorizzo]

We need more pachy art

[@araucanoraptorargentinus3973]

You forgot about Cranidos and Rampardos

[@joshcatgaming1108]

Ah yes evolution. Keep up your Amazing educational videos

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I noticed that in some of these artworks they put feathers on pachycephalosaurus. There is no evidence of pachycephalosaurus, not having feathers

[@AlbertaGeek]

_"There is no evidence of pachycephalosaurus, not having feathers"_ IOW, you're saying they definitely had feathers.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

@@AlbertaGeek well, not all dinosaurs have feathers, and people need to understand. Where is the evidence of pachycephalosaurus have any feathers

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@tyrannotherium7873 You tell me - you're the one that said they all did.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

@@AlbertaGeekbro what are you talking about?

[@AlbertaGeek]

@@tyrannotherium7873 Your OP claimed there is _no_ evidence of them _not_ having feathers, which means that there _is_ evidence of them _having_ feathers. *Then* you ask where the evidence of them having feathers is, which I found odd given what you said in your OP. Ergo, I replied "You tell me - you're the one that said they all did."

[@TrajGreekFire]

awesome

[@George_M_]

The first dinosaur where I learned that scientists just like being contrary. The whole "they can't headbutt" thing is just ridiculous. Just look at them!

[@RokuroCarisu]

They probably wouldn't run towards each other like big horn sheep, but performed short-ranged headbutts, like goats, instead.

[@Captain_Gargoyle]

Waaat?! Who isn't interested in Pachycephalosaurs?! Philistines, that's who. Very interesting video! _p.s._ comment number sixty niiiiine!_

[@The_PokeSaurus]

11:50 Which it should have stayed as. Saying Stygimolock and Dracorex are growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus is absolute nonsense. Dracorex has long horns, Stygimolock has longer horns, then Pachycephalosaurus has shorter horns than both. What horned animal has longer horns as a juvenile than just loses them as an adult? And you can't say they reabsorb them, animals don't reabsorb bone that dramatically.

[@pokemonparty101]

Well maybe Pachycephalosaurs did absorb their bones that dramatically lol, we don't have any modern analogue to really look at them with.

[@The_PokeSaurus]

@@pokemonparty101 But there's no evidence for it, the only thing on that side is just the size of the animals.

[@mayday6916]

I like their skulls.

[@gafls3151]

These guys are so cute!

[@jeanettemarkley7299]

Ah! You tricked me with that flowering tree. I thought flowers emerged after dinosaurs were birds. I see I'm wrong. Do you think they were colorful? I guess I thought they would have been little green things for a good amount of time.

[@Sirdilophosaurusthethird]

PAC pac do be head butting in to over pac pacs

[@chpet1655]

Wonder what they taste like Or better yet I wonder if they have good taste. Do they like jazz or maybe they are kinda lame and listen to K Pop

[@Invading-Specious]

A Casuaris has a helmet and don't use it for head to head combat...🙂

[@takenname8053]

Thicc Head

[@ODJJ-77.83]

Vvvvvvddddfffgggghhhgjjjkkkklloooouuuuiiitttrrrrfffgghjjklpoiohhhhhjjjjjkkkkkklllllyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuutttttyyyyhhhhjjjjkkkkkk

[@deadpool1dude413]

Bone heads lol

[@cro-magnoncarol4017]

That's actually what they called them in The Land Before Time if I remember correctly.