Dinosaur genus
Prenocephale
Prenocephale is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in Mongolia and the United States.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Maryańska and Osmólska 1974
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- T. Maryańska, H. Osmólska (1974). Pachycephalosauria, a new suborder of ornithischian dinosaurs. Palaeontologia Polonica 30: 45–102.
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Maryańska and Osmólska 1974), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Lived
- Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 4 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- MongoliaUnited States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- NemegtKirtland
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Parent group
- Eupachycephalosauria
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Prenocephale prenes
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Diet
- herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithischia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ornithischia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Family: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
Possibly. Both are recorded from the same rocks of the same age (Kirtland), but there one of them is identified only to genus (for example from an isolated tooth).
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Prenocephale by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 48
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same parent group: Eupachycephalosauria 3
Other genera in Eupachycephalosauria with a full profile.
Named by Maryańska and Osmólska 5
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in Mongolia 30
Other genera found in Mongolia, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.