Stygimoloch Dinosaur Facts

Stygimoloch, also known as the Styx's Demon or the Devil From Hell, is a large pachycephalosaur - about 10 meters long for a modest weight of 200 pounds - that lived during the Late Cretaceous in parts of North America. Its name does not stem from the fact that the remains of this dinosaur were found at Hell Creek but is rather due to its appalling appearance that makes it look like a demon of Christian art and refers to Greek mythology. To this day, only a few pieces of skull bones have been discovered.

A well decorated skull

The skull of Stygimoloch is typical of the pachycephalosaurid and has 3 or 4 large spikes about 4 inches long. The cranial box itself is about 18 inches long. The back of its triangular skull is made up of several thick spikes each 6 inches long which probably made it more formidable in intra-species fighting for dominance, as much in head-to-head combat as when Stygimoloch flanked on the sides. The horns were also used as a recognition tool in herds and during the courtship display.

The skull of Pachycephalosaurus is covered with a huge 10 inches thick bump while that of Stygimoloch is much thinner. There is no evidence to prove this beyond doubt, but several researchers have suggested that Stygimoloch is possibly a Pachycephalosaurus at a younger stage of life. This would imply that with age, the skull of Stygimoloch would take the shape of a dome and thicken.

Discoveries

The first fossils of Stygimoloch were discovered at Hell Creek in Montana in 1983 by Peter Galton and Hans-Dieter Sues. It was the same year that it was given the name Stygimoloch. Other fossils have also been unearthed in Wyoming.