Description
Dracorex hogwartsia may have looked like a fearsome dragon, but it was actually a gentle plant-eating dinosaur. This spiny bone-headed dinosaur was named after Hogwarts, the fictional academy attended by Harry Potter. The fossil remains of this fantastic beast were found in South Dakota, USA. It lived in the Late Cretaceous, 66 million year ago, at the end of the age of the dinosaurs.
- Scientific Name: Dracorex hogwartsia
- Characteristics: Dracorex was a plant-eating dinosaur known only from a fossilised skull and neck. The complete animal may have been up to 10 feet long. Its fearsome-looking bony skull was covered in bumps, spikes, and spines, reminiscent of a fictional dragon. It had a narrow snout and, like other ‘bone-headed dinosaurs’, it probably walked on two long back legs and had short arms with five-fingered hands. Its claws were probably blunt and hoof-like.
- Size and Color: This dinosaur model is 7.75 inches long and 3 inches high. It has scaly green skin with vibrant orange to show off its stunning head.
- The Dracorex is part of the Wild Safari® Prehistoric World collection
- All of our products are Non-toxic and BPA free
History
The spectacular fossil skull of Dracorex was discovered in South Dakota, USA, in 2004. This skull and some associated neck bones were described in 2006 as a new species of ‘bone-headed dinosaur’ or pachycephalosaur. Robert Bakker, the lead author of the description, gave it a fantastic name: Dracorex means ‘dragon king’, while hogwartsia refers to Hogwarts Academy, the fictional school where Harry Potter trained. Dracorex hogwartsia is an appropriate name for a dinosaur with a spiny dragon-like appearance!
Some paleontologists think that Dracorex is really a juvenile of another bone-headed dinosaur, Pachycephalosaurus, from the same time and place. The year after Dracorex was described, Jack Horner suggested that it looks different from Pachycephalosaurus because this species changed drastically as it grew up, developing a dome-like head as it matured. More fossil evidence will be required to determine if Dracorexis really a distinct species, or if it is just a growth stage of another dinosaur.
Maybe Dracorex and other bone-headed dinosaurs used their bony skulls in head-butting fights. This is a controversial theory among paleontologists. Some cite strong neck bones in support of the idea, while others regard the bony skulls as too delicate for battle. Whether Dracorex used its spectacular spiny skull as a weapon, or just for show, takes nothing away from its striking appearance.
There is only one species of Dracorex, D. hogwartsia, known from a single skull and associated neck bones. This dragon-like dinosaur browsed for plants during the Late Cretaceous, at the end of the age of the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago.
- Size in cm: 19.5 L x
- Size in inches: 7.68 L x
- UPC: 095866303105
