Pachycephalosaurus
Name meaning	"Thick-Headed Lizard"
Code name	Pachy
Diet	Herbivore
Height	2.5 metres (8 ft)
Length	4.5 metres (15 ft)
Weight	2 tons (4,000 lbs)
Location	USA, Canada
Range	Isla Sorna Isla Nublar (according to Jurassic Park (SNES))
Novel appearances	The Lost World
Film appearances	The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Game appearances	Jurassic Park (SNES game) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (arcade game) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (console game) Warpath: Jurassic Park Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis Jurassic Park III: Park Builder Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor Jurassic Park: Builder

"A Pachy... a pachy... oh, hell. Uh, the fathead with the bald spot. Friar Tuck!" - Roland Tembo

Pachycephalosaurus is the last and most famous member of the Pachycephalosauria, or thick-headed dinosaurs. In the 1970's paleontologist Peter Galton proposed that male pachycephalosaurs used their dome heads as battering rams, like Bighorn sheep. The idea caught the publics imagination. In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, you can even see the dome-headed pachycephalosaurs doing head butts (of course, these are genetically engineered dinosaurs and not necessarily the exact same ones that lived 70 million years ago!). But by the 1990's, scientists began to question Galton's head butting theorie. It was pointed out that animals who do butt heads have a wide surface area where the heads come into contact to prevent "head slippage." This happends when two animals butt heads at high speed and do not hit straight on. The risk breaking their necks when their heads suddenly snap to one side. Pachycephalosaurus has a domed, or rounded, head, which would minimize surface contact and therefore increase the risk of head slippage. This throws doubt on the idea of any high speed head-butting between pachycephalosaurs, but it does not exclude "head-pushing" of "head-ramming" against non-pachycephalosaurs. It just happens that if a pachycephalosaur lowered its head and charged at a theropod, the impact would be right at the level of the theropod's head or pelvis. Since pachycephalosaurus had a skull up to 9 inches (23 cm) thick, guess who'd lose?^[1]

Contents 1 In The Lost World (novel) 1.1 The Herd 1.2 Dodgson 1.3 Explorer 2 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 3 Notes 4 Video Games 4.1 Jurassic Park (SNES game) 4.2 The Lost World: Jurassic Park (arcade game) 4.3 The Lost World: Jurassic Park (console game) 4.4 In Warpath: Jurassic Park 4.5 Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis 4.6 Jurassic Park III: Park Builder 4.7 Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor 4.8 Jurassic Park: Builder 5 Comics 6 Sources

In The Lost World (novel)Edit

Pachycephalosaurus first appeared in the Lost World novel when Arby and Kelly were in the high hide viewing all of the dinosaur herds across the valley. The herd was quite large, consisting of about a dozen members if not more, and was first located to the south of the valley, the herd was often found in the middle of the island's roadways where they would congregate and take advantage of the mudholes in the road, usually to the distress of people having to use the roads in their cars. Levine was unsure whether they were Gravitholus albertae or Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis at first but he eventually decided they were the latter. Levine and Malcom were at odds over the issue that the animals butted heads. They are described as being 4-6 feet tall, dark-green, having large curved protruding foreheads, a rim of knobby horns, and having the overall demeanor of African Buffalo. They usually stood in a lazy, contented, cow-like manner unless disturbed, in which case they would attempt to ram things with their domed skulls.

The HerdEdit

Howard King came around a corner, and saw a herd of animals in the road. They were some kind of green dinosaur, about 4ft tall, with big domed heads and a bunch of little horns, that smooth bulging curve on the forehead and all those little horns. The front bumper nudged the nearest animal, which grunted, took a couple of steps back, lowered it's head and butted the front of of the car with a metallic clang! He opened the door, and climbed out, the animals jumped to their feet and the nearest one charged him. He had the door open; the animal smashed into it, slamming it shut, leaving a deep dent in the metal. He ran around the back of the car, just as another smashed into the rear taillight, shattering the plastic. A third animal charged the back of the car directly. King scrambled up onto the spare tire, as it slammed into the bumper. The jolt knocked him off, and he fell to the ground, rolling while the Pachycephalosaurus snorted all around him.

DodgsonEdit

"Is Levine there?" The radio clicked. Harding said, "Ask him if there's any danger from a green dinosaur that's about 6 ft tall and has a domed forehead." Levine nodded. "Tell her yes. They're called Pachycephalosaurus" "Why?" "Because there's about 50 of them all around the car."

ExplorerEdit

Now the puddle had become a mudhole, thanks to the dozen or so animals that sat in it. These were the green dome-headed that she had been watching. She had watched the Pachycephalosaurus with uneasiness. "Levine says nobody knows anything about these animals, Sarah" "Great," she said. "Levine says a complete skeleton has never been recovered. So nobody has even a guess about their behavior, except that they're probably aggressive."

Suddenly one of the animals charged the trunk of the tree she was in, butting it hard. The impact was surprisingly forceful. She struggled to hold on. Oh shit, she thought. Then she hit the ground, right beside the animals.

Sarah Harding was underneath the car, and now she was staring out at the animals feet. The pachys were stamping and snorting, Trying to get at her under the car. The nearest pachys snorted and banged on the bumper. They leaned down and twisted their heads, trying to get to her. "They have very bad breath," she said. Suddenly, they all thundered off.

The Lost World: Jurassic ParkEdit

Pachycephalosaurus were seen ramming into hunters and equipment as one member of the species was being captured. It is also later seen wrecking havoc in the hunters' camp when it and the other captured dinosaurs are escaping their pens. The Pachycephalosaurus were, however, only half the size of their real life counterparts which were about 4.5 meters long. A possible explanation was that these individuals were not fully grown. Roland Tembo had nicknamed them "Friar Tuck", as he could not pronounce their real name.

NotesEdit

Video GamesEdit

Jurassic Park (SNES game)Edit

Pachycephalosaurus is depicted to be territorial, meaning that they will attack if the player/other dinosaurs were inside their territory. They're not a strong enemy as they can be easily killed.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (arcade game)Edit

In this game, you will be sitting in your car, and a bunch of Pachycephalosaurus will charge you. In order to defeat them, you will have to shoot their body, shooting their bone-head wouldn't be affective. They sometimes come often.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (console game)Edit

Pachycephalosaurus is encountered in the Human Hunter and velociraptor levels. The Pachycephalosaurus is bigger than the ones seen in the film, furthermore suggesting that they were not fully grown in the film. Like in the arcade game they can only be hurt if hurt/shot in the body.

In Warpath: Jurassic ParkEdit

Pachycephalosaurus is an unlockable dinosaur in Warpath: Jurassic Park.

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis Edit

Pachycephalosaurus is a two-star small herbivore, at closer to its correct length than those of the movie. It is the primary dinosaur that the player must create to endorse more new dinosaurs. It will fight against each other, although they never seriously injure each other. They also use their hard heads to attack small carnivores (except Albertosaurus). They are friends with the Homalocephale.

Jurassic Park III: Park Builder Edit

Pachycephalosaurus is nr 092 of the Herbivore Twos that can be created in JPIII: Park Builder.

Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor Edit

"Pachycephalosaurus is the eighth dinosaur species encountered in JPIII: The DNA Factor. In the level Perilous Highlands, it appears strong enough to smash large boulders that block the player's path by ramming them.

Jurassic Park: BuilderEdit

Pachycephalosaurus is available to purchase as your sixth dinosaur in the game.

Comics Edit

Sources Edit

1. ↑ Dinosaur Field Guide, page 102, 103.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park Dinosaurs
Compsognathus • Corythosaurus • Edmontosaurus • Gallimimus • Mamenchisaurus • Pachycephalosaurus • Parasaurolophus • Stegosaurus • Triceratops • Tyrannosaurus rex • Velociraptor

Playable Warpath Dinosaurs
Acrocanthosaurus • Albertosaurus • Ankylosaurus • Carcharodontosaurus • Cryolophosaurus • Giganotosaurus • Megaraptor • Pachycephalosaurus • Spinosaurus • Stygimoloch • Styracosaurus • Suchomimus • Triceratops • Tyrannosaurus rex