Gravitholus
Encyclopedia
Gravitholus was a genus
of dinosaur
from the late Cretaceous
period (Campanian
stage
, around 75 million years ago). It was a pachycephalosaur, a type of dinosaur with a thick skull made of hardened bone. It lived in what is now Alberta
, Canada, and was described in 1979 by W. P. Wall and Peter Galton
.
The type species
is Gravitholus albertae. There is some debate amongst paleontologists as to whether the animal represents a distinct genus, or if it may be synonymous with Stegoceras
. Recent publications indicate it may be a valid genus.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from the late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period (Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
stage
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...
, around 75 million years ago). It was a pachycephalosaur, a type of dinosaur with a thick skull made of hardened bone. It lived in what is now Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada, and was described in 1979 by W. P. Wall and Peter Galton
Peter Galton
Peter M. Galton is a British vertebrate paleontologist working in America, who has to date written or co-written about a hundred papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosauropod dinosaurs.With Robert Bakker in a joint article...
.
The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is Gravitholus albertae. There is some debate amongst paleontologists as to whether the animal represents a distinct genus, or if it may be synonymous with Stegoceras
Stegoceras
Stegoceras is a genus of plant-eating pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous period....
. Recent publications indicate it may be a valid genus.