Dracorex Facts For Kids
Dracorex Hogwartsia is a cool named, most likely, juvenile version of the pachycephalosaurus. it together with stygimoloch, have been classified as younger versions of the hard headed dinosaur. However with both of these have the two coolest dinosaur names ever we decided to look at the facts about Dracorex, including how it got that cool name anyway!
Dracorex Hogwartsia although assigned its own species in 2006 is now thought of as a juvenile pachycephalosaurus. Its head did not have the distinctive dome, though it did have the spikes and bony knobs. These were more pronounced in its younger form. It is also thought Stygimoloch was a juvenile pachycephalosaurus
there’s always room for more dinosaurs and Dracorex, even if it is a young pachycephalosaurus, looks different enough to learn a little about we think! So we have 21 Dracorex facts for you below, and some quick facts if you are short on time.
Don’t forget to check out our coloring pages, facts sheets and everything else we have dinosaur related before you go. They are great to collect and free!
Dracorex Hogwartsia Quick Facts
- The height of the Dracorex was estimated to be 1.2 meters whereas the length of this dinosaur was calculated to be 3-4 meters.
- The weight of the Dracorex was estimated to be between 50-60 kgs or about 120 lbs.
- The standing height of the Dracorex is calculated to be around 27 inches whereas the dinosaur was 118.1 inches in length.
- Up until very recently all members, or stages of Pachycephalosaurus were thought to be purely vegetarian and herbivore dinosaurs. However recently they have found sharp teeth at the front of their mouths. Teeth that look exactly like a carnivores teeth!!!
- Dracorex was alive during the late cretaceous period between 80-65 million years ago and would have went extinct at the same time as the rest of the dinosaurs.
- It may now be known as a young Pachycephalosaurus, but its name is still a great dinosaur name and it means Dragon king of Hogwarts!
- Unlike its bigger brother, Pachycephalosaurus, Dracorex is actually easy to say, it has three syllables and you say it like this. Dray – Koh – Rex.
1: How big was Dracorex ?
Of the 3 famous Pachycephalosaur’s. Stygimoloch, Dracorex and Pachycephalosaurus. (Which might actually be versions of the same dinosaur.) Dracorex was thought to be the smallest or youngest of them all. The height of the Dracorex was estimated to be 1.2 meters whereas the length of this dinosaur was calculated to be 3-4 meters.
2: How heavy was the Dracorex ?
The weight of the Dracorex was estimated to be between 50-60 kgs or about 120 lbs. That’s the same weight as a full grown wolf. If it is indeed a young pachycephalosaurus then it would grow quite a lot heavier! up to 900 lbs when fully grown.
3: How long and tall was the Dracorex ?
The standing height of the Dracorex is calculated to be around 27 inches whereas the dinosaur was 118.1 inches in length. Again it is likely to have grown to over 5ft tall and 14ft long when it grew that dome and turned into a Pachycephalosaurus.
4: How thick was Dracorex head?
Dracorex had not yet developed its dome shaped head like the older versions ( stygimoloch and pachycephalosaurus. However its head was still ready to grow and its skull was covered with bone spikes and knobs that would later flatten out to form that famous dome you see on pachycephalosaurus. However with all those spikes and knobs it certainly looked scary anyway.
5: Did Pachycephalosaurus have good eyesight?
Dracorex had a very good eyesight. In fact, paleontologist also suggest that it had binocular vision making it see in distance without hassle. it would have needed to see predators from a distance to be able to run away. if indeed it did eat meat as well, those great seeing eyes may have had a more sinister purpose.
6: How Fast Could the Dracorex Run?
Dracorex like all other members of pachycephalosaurus family could run up to 15mph. it was smaller than other members of the family, therefore Dracorex may have been able to run faster than at the later stages of its development.
7: What Did a Dracorex eat?
Well this is a great question. Up until very recently all members, or stages of Pachycephalosaurus development, were thought to be purely vegetarian and herbivorous dinosaurs. However recently they have found sharp canine teeth at the front of their mouths. Teeth that look exactly like a carnivores teeth!!!
So now many scientists are thinking that this dinosaur with its beak, its flat teeth and now its sharp teeth was actually an omnivore and ate both meat and plants! better not put your fingers near that mouth now!
8: What Movies Have Featured a Dracorex ?
Dracorex / Stygimoloch really was exclusively featured in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. When one or the other burst through a wall and helped Owen and Claire escape. We actually think it was a Stygimoloch as it was a little bigger, but as they were all the same does it matter!!
9: When Did the Dracorex become Extinct?
Dracorex was alive during the late cretaceous period between 80-65 million years ago and would have went extinct at the same time as the rest of the dinosaurs in the after effects of the K-T Asteroid impact.
10: What Dinosaur would eat Dracorex ?
Dracorex was alive at the same time as the T-Rex. At this stage of its life it may have been a little small and agile for a T-Rex but as it got bigger and turned into a Stygimoloch and a Pachycephalosaurus that would have changed and it may have been a tempting target for a T-Rex.
11: How did Dracorex Hogwartsia get its name?
As you may have guessed from this “modern” name it was named pretty recently. It was discovered in 2004 and named in 2006 by Bob Bakker and Robert Sullivan. the skull, when found, was what we would all imagine a dragon to look like, maybe a little smaller though and less fire!
So with Harry Potter being incredibly popular they named it after the mean boy with the dragon name – Draco Malfoy, of course Hogwarts is the school where all the wizards go to to it seems fitting that that became its last name! and Dracorex hogwartsia was born ( the dragon king of hogwarts!
it also got the seal of approval from JK Rowling when she heard a dinosaur had been named after here writing!
“I am absolutely thrilled to think that Hogwarts has made a small (claw?) mark upon the fascinating world of dinosaurs.”
J K Rowling
It is also fitting that children and the Children’s museum of Indianapolis helped name this dinosaur. and you can go there to see the skull that started it all!
Even if it does turn out to be a young pachycephalosaurus i hope they let it keep its name! it along with Stygimoloch have two of the coolest names of any dinosaurs. ( though Stygimoloch name is less child friendly! it means “Demon from the River of Styx!”
12: What does the name Dracorex Mean?
As we said above Dracorex was named as it looks like a dragon. It may now be known as a young Pachycephalosaurus, but its name is still a great dinosaur name and it means Dragon king of Hogwarts
!When people say it they exclaimed that it looked like a dragon and so the name stuck. mainly as it was suggested by the paleontologists daughter, Victoria, who heard all the people say it looked like a dragon. Then it seemed only natural if you are going to call it Dragon King it has to have a harry potter reference! https://dinosaurfactsforkids.com/25-dreadnoughtus-facts-for-kids/
13. Was Dracorex a meat eater?
The Most recent fossil discoveries of a juvenile Pachycephalosaurus (or Dracorex Hogwartsia) was shown to have sharp steak like teeth at the front of its beaked mouth.
There is really only one reason a dinosaur needs sharp teeth and that is to catch food! So although we don’t know for sure it is starting to look like Pachycephalosaurus might, at the very least, have been an omnivore.
Maybe don’t put your fingers to close to its mouth after all!
14: Were Pachycephalosaurus, Stygimoloch and Dracorex the same dinosaur.
It is likely that these three dinosaurs were in fact all the same, just at different ages. Dracorex being the youngest with no dome hard head but spiky nobs, Stygimoloch being the middle age with a smaller dome hard head and some spikes and then the adult being Pachycephalosaurus with its 10 inch thick dome.
They all lived in the same area at the same time, and it is less likely that three very similar species would be able to do that well if they all competed for the same food.
However, even though this is fairly well accepted there are still plenty of scientists who say that these are three different dinosaurs. For the sake of Harry Potter fans and the Dracorex hogwartsia we hope they are right!
15: Did the Dracorex lay eggs?
It is thought that most dinosaurs were Egg laying, though we can not say 100% for sure. However dracorex is very likely to have been a dinosaur that did reproduce by laying eggs.
16: When was Dracorex discovered?
Although pachycephalosaurus fossils have been found for over 150 years, and mistaken for other dinosaurs, ( see our main pachycephalosaurus article here) Dracorex wasn’t discovered until 2004 and named in 2006.
17: What dinosaurs did Dracorex live with?
Dracorex has been found in the Hells Creek Formation, which has seen a lot of fossil discoveries. Other dinosaurs found there have included, Triceratops, Quetzalcoatlus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ankylosaurus and Struthiomimus, and many more.
18: Where has Dracorex been found?
There have been many fossils of Dracorex fossils found in North America and Canada which is where is lived 66 million years ago.
19: When did Dracorex live?
Dracorex lived during the late cretaceous period between 70 and 66 million years ago. In what is now the western United States.
20: Did Dracorex have teeth.
It did have small teeth and for over 100 years these teeth were though to be those of a herbivore. It was beaked like triceratops, and had back teeth suited to strip leaves from bushes and plants. However in recent years front teeth have been discovered, as we mention above.
These teeth are long and sharp and more suited to a carnivores mouth rather than a herbivores. So it may be that some re-thinking needs to be done about what this hard headed dinosaur actually ate!
21: How to pronounce Dracorex ?
Unlike its bigger brother, Pachycephalosaurus, Dracorex is actually easy to say, it has three syllables and you say it like this. Drak – oh – Rex.
Drak – oh – Rex
Conclusion
Just like its larger family member this dinosaur is a little bit confusing. It has its own name, and is classified as its own species, but it really was just a young pachycephalosaurus. It shows how much these dinosaurs changed as they got older. Three different dinosaurs actually all the same animal! and all different enough to confuse even the experts for a long time!
Hopefully you have still learnt some new Dracorex facts from our list above. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our dinosaur facts pages, our coloring and facts sheets are also free to downloads. We have new content added all the time, so just like you were are always learning more dinosaur facts all the time.
We may at some stage make a seperate dracorex fact sheet , but for the moments we are leaving it as the Pachycephalosaurus as we think it makes more sense. If you disagree let us know!
References
https://www.childrensmuseum.org/blog/meet-dracorex-hogwartsia-v2
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/facts/dracorex
https://www.thoughtco.com/dracorex-hogwartsia-1092859
Hi, I am Roy Ford a General Studies and English Teacher who has taught all over the world. What started as a fossil collection became a great way to teach, motivate and inspire students of all ages and all over the world about dinosaurs and from that and children’s love of dinosaurs came the site dinosaur facts for kids, a resource for all ages.
