Pachycephalosaurus-Stygimoloch-Dracorex debate now in print (sort of)

At the 2007 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting Jack Horner presented a talk on Pachycephalosaurus, Stygimoloch and Dracorex, basically saying that Stygimoloch and Dracorex are growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus. This talk has been being debated pretty much every day since it was given by someone (see an example of past blog post discussion here). Now people can finally read the findings of Horner and Goodwin in PLoS ONE (here). As I have not even had a chance to read it yet I will leave the analyzing and debating to the numerous other blog post that I am sure will start to trickle in today and throughout the rest of the week. Enjoy!

Dracorex (top left) and Stygimoloch (top right), as growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus (bottom). Art by Holly Woodward from the November 23rd, 2007 issue of Science.

Citation: Horner JR, Goodwin MB (2009) Extreme Cranial Ontogeny in the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus. PLoS ONE 4(10): e7626. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007626 (link)

Horner JR, Goodwin MB, Woodward H (2007) Synonymy consequences of dinosaur cranial ontogeny. J Vert Paleont 27: 92A

Triceratops cranial epi-ossifications

Fresh from the newest issue of JVP:

Ontogeny of cranial epi-ossifications in Triceratops. John R. Horner and Mark B. Goodwin. 2008. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(1): 134-144.

Abstract: "Historically, the scarcity of non-adult Triceratops fossils collected from Upper Cretaceous sediments of North America limited our understanding and promoted controversy with regard to the morphology, and presence or absence of cranial epi-ossifications in the widely known horned dinosaur. The recent discovery of several exceptionally well preserved juvenile and subadult Triceratops skulls and numerous juvenile, subadult, and adult cranial elements, from the Hell Creek Formation of eastern Montana, confirms the ontogeny and morphology of epi-ossifications: epinasal, epijugal, epiparietal, and episquamosal. We describe the ontogeny and timing of the fusion of each of these epi-ossifications and the rostral from a cranial growth series. Although the timing is variable, the epinasal fuses first, followed by the rostral, the epijugals, the episquamosals, and lastly by the epiparietals. Co-ossification of the epinasal, rostral, and epijugals unites several of the anterior (rostral-nasal-premaxillae) and lateral (jugal-quadratojugal) skull elements. In combination with forward directed postorbital horns and massive fan-shaped frill, cranial epi-ossifications may have enhanced visual display and species communication in Triceratops."

Abstract reproduced with the permission of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Picture from Hatcher, Marsh and Lull 'The Ceratopsia.'