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The Dome-HeadDinosaur
The Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis was the largest of its kind. Its name, meaning "thick-headed lizard" was aptly so, for the Pachycephalosaurus sported a dome-shaped skull that was almost 10 inches thick and surrounded by hard knobs. This bipedal herbivore stood at equal height with a full grown man but grew almost nine feet long. It is popularly postulated that Pachycephalosaurus butted heads for domination, but this theory has been brought to question due to the relative weakness of its neck vertebrae.
The Pachycephalosaurus Diet
All that remains of the Pachycephalosaurus are its scattered fossils. It can be difficult for paleontologists to determine exactly what this dinosaur ate from incomplete fossil models. The Pachycephalosaurus once roamed an area known as Laurasia, an extinct landmass that connected North America to Asia. What the Pachycephalosaurus ate here exactly is still uncertain. These dinosaurs had short, rigged teeth, which were not ideal for tough plant matter. It seems more likely that the Pachycephalosaurus had a diet of insects, fruits and soft leaves.
The Cretaceous Landscape
The Cretaceous period was the quintessential era of the dinosaurs. During this time, North America, still the home of the Pachycephalosaurus, was quite different. Half of the North America continent was covered in warm seas from the modern day Rocky mountains to the Appalachian mountains. The continent was generally warmer in climate.
Plant Life In The Cretaceous Period
The Pachycephalosaurus was most likely a herbivore and perhaps an omnivore based upon its supposed diet. Because of it height, this dinosaur most likely devoured the small fern-like plants that dotted the earth. During the Cretaceous period, deciduous forest began to appear in great number. Soft ferns and cycads covered the landscape, while the introduction of flowering plants exploded into hundreds of new plant species during this time period.