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Sphaerotholus buchholtzae

Reptilia - Pachycephalosauridae

Taxonomy
Sphaerotholus buchholtzae was named by Williamson and Carr (2003). It is not extant. Its type specimen is RTMP 87.113.3. Its type locality is western Carter County, which is in a Maastrichtian terrestrial horizon in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana.

It was synonymized subjectively with Prenocephale edmontonensis by Sullivan (2003).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2003Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Williamson and Carr
2004Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Maryanska et al. p. 465
2009Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Williamson et al. p. 292
2010Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Longrich et al. p. 279
2012Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Schott and Evans p. 907
2015Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Mallon et al. p. 426
2017Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Schott and Evans p. 867
2018Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Evans et al. p. 124
2021Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Woodruff et al. pp. 582-583
2024Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Wick and Lehman p. 101

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
RankNameAuthor
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Ornithischia()
—Genasauria
—Cerapoda
—Marginocephalia
—Pachycephalosauria()
familyPachycephalosauridae
subfamilyPachycephalosaurinae
genusSphaerotholus
speciesbuchholtzae

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Sphaerotholus buchholtzae Williamson and Carr 2003
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
D. C. Woodruff et al. 2021Differs from all other pachycephalosaurids in the following unique combination of characters: a parietosquamosal bar that strongly decreases in depth laterally as seen in caudal view, the primary node row consists of four nodes with one small lateroventral corner node, wide intersquamosal process of the parietal that captures a medial portion of the medialmost primary node. Differs from S. edmontonensis (see below) in the relative length of the postorbital and parietal region of skull at similar frontoparietal size.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yeso
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: gregariouso
Environment: terrestrialo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: ground dwellingo
Diet: herbivoreo
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2004-12-14 12:50:52
Modified: 2004-12-14 14:50:52
Source: o = order
Reference: Marsh 1875

Age range: Maastrichtian or 72.20000 to 66.00000 Ma

Collections (2 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Maastrichtian72.2 - 66.0Canada (Saskatchewan) Sphaerotholus buchholtzae (170675)
Maastrichtian72.2 - 66.0USA (Montana) Stegoceras edmontonense (type locality: 53516)