Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
278 / Mesozoic
Pachyrhinosaurus
Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis
A massive nasal boss replaced the long horn seen in many ceratopsians.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 72–69 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- High-latitude river plains · Western Canada
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Pachyrhinosaurus?
Pachyrhinosaurus (Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis) was an extinct organism known from About 72–69 million years ago, with a range in High-latitude river plains · Western Canada.
Life and ecology
Pachyrhinosaurus traveled in herds across seasonal northern landscapes, cropping tough plants with a beak and slicing dental batteries.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Pachyrhinosaurus disappear?
Its record ends before the final mass extinction, amid Late Cretaceous regional turnover; that turnover is context, not a demonstrated cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Pachyrhinosaurus?
Large bonebeds preserve many ages, skull bosses, frills and evidence of herd structure.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS