Pachycephalosaurus

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***Pachycephalosaurus*** is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that originated from Late Cretaceous North America.

*Pachycephalosaurus* fossils are first unlocked on Isla Pena, then excavated from the Hell Creek Formation, Lance Formation, and Scollard Formation.

## History

Originating in the Late Cretaceous period of North America, *Pachycephalosaurus* was bred by InGen on Isla Sorna, intended for eventual exhibition in Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. Nine individuals were known to have been created by 1993.

During the 1997 incident, several *Pachycephalosaurus* were encountered by InGen teams on Isla Sorna.

By 2015, *Pachycephalosaurus* was among the dinosaurs featured in Jurassic World, most prominently in the park's Pachy Arena. Following the 2015 Isla Nublar Incident, all surviving *Pachycephalosaurus* were left to roam wild across the island. With the subsequent eruption of Mt. Sibo, it is unknown if any survived.

## Characteristics

The namesake and largest of the pachycephalosaurids (or thick-headed dinosaurs) in the *Evolution* series, *Pachycephalosaurus* is a herbivorous dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. One of the last non-avian dinosaurs before the Cretaceous-paleogene extinction event about 66 million years ago, *Pachycephalosaurus* is significantly larger than its relatives *Stygimoloch*, *Dracorex*, and *Homalocephale*, measuring up to 4.5 meters in length and weighing 450kg. Its name translates to "*Thick-Headed Lizard*", in reference to the distinctive reinforced dome of its large, thick skull that is believe to have been used in intra-species combat, with rivals attacking each other when competing for territory. This has more recently been countered with the suggestion of flank-butting. Its domed head also has bony bumps at the back of its head and down its snout. The base cosmetic gene of *Pachycephalosaurus* is a tan, light brown covering its underside, with blue mottling along its back and sides.

Although it is unlocked relatively late in the campaign on Isla Pena, its requirements are modest compared to other dinosaurs unlocked on the same island. Though easier to contain, they will provide little benefit to the player in terms of space efficiency or dinosaur rating on the limited confines of Pena.

### Behaviour

*Pachycephalosaurus* prefers to be kept in moderately sized groups of between three and six individuals and a small population of, at maximum, ten other dinosaurs. *Pachycephalosaurus* will attack each other in territorial fights or death duel headbutting contests if their social group maximum has been reached or exceeded respectively.

*Pachycephalosaurus* are capable of engaging in death duels with small carnivores such as *Velociraptor* and *Deinonychus*, but are otherwise vulnerable to predation from larger carnivores. Due to its low base stats, it's unlikely to survive most encounters with small carnivores.

## Paleontology

*Pachycephalosaurus* was discovered in the late 1800s in the American West by various groups. American geologist and fossil collector Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden discovered the first *Pachycephalosaurus* specimen in south-eastern Montana in 1859, when he found a fragment of bone in the Lance Formation. The first fossils specimens found were skulls which fossilized easily, being that they would have been the hardest part of the body. The hardened head was most likely used in contests with rivals for mating or status in the herd, though they wouldn't have headbutted like modern-day goats and instead would've struck each other on the flanks. Early finds were fragmentary, but more complete specimens have recently been recovered. The fossil was not originally thought to be that of a dinosaur but a reptile or armadillo, and it wasn’t until 1985 that it was formally classified as a new genus, named *Pachycephalosaurus*.

There is an ongoing debate on whether other Pachycephalosauridae in the Hell Creek formation, *Stygimoloch* and *Dracorex*, are younger forms of *Pachycephalosaurus*.

### Paleoecology

Living around 65-75 million years ago in western North America, *Pachycephalosaurus* environment consisted of conifers, ferns, fruit-bearing, and leafy deciduous trees. *Pachycephalosaurus* lived alongside many other Late Cretaceous dinosaurs including the hadrosaur *Edmontosaurus*, the ceratopsians *Triceratops* and *Torosaurus*, the Ankylosauridae *Ankylosaurus*, the ornithomimid *Struthiomimus*, as well as the theropods *Troodon* and the fearsome apex predator *Tyrannosaurus*.

*Pachycephalosaurus* lived on what were floodplains and wooded areas, feeding on soft plants, fruit and seeds. Its sharp separated teeth would have made it ideal for a mixed-plants diet, and capable of shredding leaves.

## Available genomes

 Lance Formation | ★★★★★★★
 Scollard Formation | ★★★★★★★★★★

## Skins

 NULL

 ALPINE

 ARID

 JUNGLE

 SAVANNAH

 STEPPE

 Steppe: Muerta East Challenge Mode Any Difficulty Unlock

## Behind the scenes

The design of the *Pachycephalosaurus* in *Evolution* is based on its appearance in 1997's *The Lost World: Jurassic Park*. The audio files used in the film were provided by Universal Pictures, in order to help the development team create the most authentic representation of the dinosaur. It was first revealed in the pre-order trailer that was released in March of 2018, and received a Species Profile a day after.

With Update 1.8, *Pachycephalosaurus*, along with *Stygimoloch* and *Dracorex*, were given the ability to fight and kill small carnivores.

## Gallery

VideosSpecies Profile - Pachycephalosaurus
Images
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *What Killed the Gene Guard Act?*. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
2. ↑ Spielberg, Steven. (Director). (1997). *The Lost World: Jurassic Park* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
3. ↑ *Pachycephalosaurus*. Jurassic World. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016.
4. ↑ Krupa, Daniel (May 16, 2018). HOW JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION MADE ITS T.REX - IGN FIRST *IGN*. Retrieved June 14, 2018
5. ↑ Frontier Developments. (March 29, 2018). *Jurassic World Evolution Pre-Order Trailer* [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
6. ↑ Frontier Developments. (March 30, 2018). *Species Profile - Pachycephalosaurus* [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.