Sinocephale
| Sinocephale | |
|---|---|
| Skull diagram of Sinocephale with known material in white | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Pachycephalosauria |
| Family: | †Pachycephalosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Pachycephalosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Sinocephale Evans et al., 2021 |
| Type species | |
| †Troodon bexelli | |
| Synonyms | |
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Sinocephale (meaning 'Chinese head') is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Inner Mongolia, China, during the Cretaceous period. The genus contains a single species, Sinocephale bexelli, which was originally named as a species of the genus Troodon in 1953, and later transferred to the genus Stegoceras in 1964. After decades of being considered dubious, it was re-evaluated in 2021 and recognised as a valid taxon, being given its own genus, Sinocephale. The original holotype was lost, with modern research conducted using rediscovered plaster casts.
Scant material makes for limited knowledge of its life appearance, but it is distinguished by an embayment on the back of the domed skull, which would give it a heart shape as seen from above. It is a member of the subfamily Pachycephalosaurinae, related to animals such as Pachycephalosaurus and Prenocephale. The geologic context of the species has historically been unclear, but it is currently thought to originate in rocks belonging to the Ulansuhai Formation.