It’s Halloween, so what better fossil to feature than one literally named after the River Styx, the mythical gateway to the underworld? Meet Stygimoloch, the “Demon from the River Styx.”
This dome-headed dinosaur lived roughly 66-70 million years ago in what’s now North America, roaming the same Cretaceous landscapes as T. rex and Triceratops. With its thick skull and crown of sharp spikes, Stygimoloch looked a little demonic, but actually was a happy little herbivore!
My sketch this week shows the skull of this awesome demonic dino with it's crest of spikes, and lumpy bumpy face!
Paleontologists aren’t completely sure whether Stygimoloch was its own species or just a younger version of another dome-headed dinosaur, Pachycephalosaurus. The current thinking is that as these dinosaurs grew, their skulls changed shape, with the spikes shrinking and the dome expanding. So, it might not be a devilish new discovery after all, but rather a Pachycephalosaurus going through its awkward teenage phase with all those bodily changes you can expect with puberty.
Fun fact: Despite their armoured heads, there’s no solid evidence that these dinosaurs used them for head-butting battles. The domes may have been for display, species recognition, or impressing potential mates. That said, I like to imagine they probably butted heads like teenagers in a early 2000s mosh-pit! (ah, good times)
