Dracorex

dragon king

• draco · Latin · dragon
• rex · Latin · king

The name combines the Latin words for "dragon" and "king". It refers to the spiky, dragon-like skull of the only known specimen. The species name, hogwartsia, honours Hogwarts School from the Harry Potter books.

Named by

Bakker et al.

Year named

2006

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, USA

A pachycephalosaurid ("dome-headed" dinosaur), known from a single skull. Some researchers (e.g. Horner and Goodwin, 2009) have argued that Dracorex and Stygimoloch are juvenile growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus. This is debated, and other researchers still treat Dracorex as a distinct genus.