Prenocephale

Taxobox
name = "Prenocephale"

---

image_width = 200px
image_caption = An artist's impression of "Prenocephale".
status = fossil
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Ornithischia
subordo = Cerapoda
infraordo = Pachycephalosauria
familia = Pachycephalosauridae
genus = "Prenocephale"
genus_authority = Maryańska & Osmólska, 1974
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* "P. prenes"
* "P. brevis"
* "P. edmontonense"

"Prenocephale" was a small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous (from the Campanian through to the Maastrichtian) and was similar in many ways to its close relative, "Homalocephale". "Prenocephale" probably weighed around 130 kilograms and was around 2m to 3m long. Unlike the flattened wedge-shaped skull of "Homalocephale", the head of "Prenocephale" was rounded and sloping. It lived in what is now Mongolia.

Anatomy

Like other pachycephalosaurs, "Prenocephale" is known only from skulls, and a few other small bones. [ [http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/dinosaurs_prenocephale.html A new (2007) "Prenocephale" skeleton has been discovered] in Mongolia, and measures 5.25ft (160cm) in length. This specimen preserves both fore and hindlimb elements, a complete spinal vertebra, tail and ribs. It is a one of a kind specimen that has yet to be described but has been attributed to "Prenocephale" sp.] For this reason, reconstructions usually depict "Prenocephale" as sharing the basic body plan common to all of the other Pachycephalosauria: a stout body with a short, thick neck, short forelimbs and tall hind legs.

Though related more closely to "Homalocephale", the head of "Prenocephale" was comparable to the "Stegoceras", albeit with closed supratemporal fenestrae. Also, the paired grooves above the supraorbitals/prefrontals (along with a posterior parietal that restricts the frontal dome) are absent in "Prenocephale". This differentiates the species from "Stegoceras", as such features are common in the latter. It has been suggested that "Prenocephale"'s supposed relative, "Sphaerotholus" is actually a "Prenocephale". If this is the case, "Prenocephale" would have also lived in North America as well as in Mongolia. [ [http://dml.cmnh.org/2003Jan/msg00550.html Re: Sphaerotholus] ]

Diet

As with most of its relatives, scientists do not yet know what these dinosaurs ate. However the premaxillary teeth and muzzle are not as wideset as its relative "Stegoceras", indicating different feeding preferences (possibly indicating that "Prenocephale" was a more selective forager). [http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/pachycephalosauria.htm Pachycephalosauria] ] It may have been an omnivore, eating both plants and insects.

Classification

"Prenocephale" is a member of the Pachycephalosauria, a large clade of herbivorous/omnivorous dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. Initially, the species "P. brevis", "P. edmontonensis", and "P. goodwini" were indentified as "Stegoceras", but are now referrable to "Prenocephale".

It has also been proposed by Robert Sullivan that "P. brevis", "P. edmontonensis", and "P. goodwini", come together to form a clade with the Asian taxa "P. prenes" as a currently unresolved sister group. "Tylocephale", has been interpreted as the sister taxon to the "Prenocephale" clade. The species "Sphaerotholus buchholtzae", could be a subjective junior synonym of "P. edmontonensis". [cite book|author=Robert M. Sullivan|year=2003|title=REVISION OF THE DINOSAUR STEGOCERAS LAMBE (ORNITHISCHIA, PACHYCEPHALOSAURIDAE)|Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 181–207.] [http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rjpatchu/paleobiology/Dino_Osteology/lect10.html Dinosaurian Ungulates (Ornithopods)] ] They all possess a distinct row of nodes on the squamosal and parietal areas of the skull roof.

In popular culture

"Prenocephale" was shown in the Discovery Channel special "Dinosaur Planet". It was depicted as living in small herds, in which males fought with their heads. They were also portrayed defending themselves from "Velociraptor".

References

External links

* [http://www.gondwanastudios.com/info/lan.htm Prenocephale, Gondwana Studios]
* [http://apt.allenpress.com/aptonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0272-4634&volume=023&issue=01&page=0181 Revision of the dinosaur "Stegoceras"]
* [http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/pachycephalosauria.htm Pachycephalosauria]
* [http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rjpatchu/paleobiology/Dino_Osteology/lect10.html Dinosaurian Ungulates]