Hanssuesia
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Pachycephalosaurs, Pachycephalosauridae
- Named by
- Sullivan 2003
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
No finds with map coordinates are recorded yet.
Habitat
Low coastal plains crossed by rivers in western North America. Dinosaurs from the same regional rocks include Centrosaurus and Gorgosaurus.
Field notes
About Hanssuesia
What it was like
Hanssuesia was a dome-headed dinosaur, known from thick skull domes. Its dome was broad and fairly low.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now western North America.
How it was found
Sullivan named Hanssuesia in 2003 for domes that had long been placed in Stegoceras. Some scientists still think it belongs in Stegoceras.
Field gallery
More views of Hanssuesia
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
The evidence
The science behind Hanssuesia
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Thick skull roofs form a broad dome.
- The back of the dome is lower than the front, a feature used when Hanssuesia was separated from Stegoceras.
Borrowed from relatives
- The trunk, legs and tail are restored from Stegoceras, which has associated skull and body bones.
Still unknown
- Whether Hanssuesia is a separate genus or part of the variation within Stegoceras.
- Its color and skin covering.
- How it used its dome.
Discovery timeline
- 2003Named itSullivan
- 2011Growing upSchott et al.
- 2023SkullDyer, Powers & Currie
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Hanssuesia
Named it
Separated Hanssuesia from Stegoceras using the shape of its skull dome and surrounding bones.
Hanssuesia, the correct generic name for‘Hanssuessia’Sullivan, 2003. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23: 714-714
Read the paper : Hanssuesia, the correct generic name for‘Hanssuessia’Sullivan, 2003 (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Showed that Stegoceras skull roofs changed from flat to domed during growth, helping explain differences among dome-headed dinosaurs.
Cranial Ontogeny in Stegoceras validum (Dinosauria: Pachycephalosauria): A Quantitative Model of Pachycephalosaur Dome Growth and Variation. PLoS ONE 6: e21092
Read the paper : Cranial Ontogeny in Stegoceras validum (Dinosauria: Pachycephalosauria): A Quantitative Model of Pachycephalosaur Dome Growth and Variation (opens in a new tab)Skull
Compared skull domes and proposed that Hanssuesia and Gravitholus belong to Stegoceras rather than separate genera.
Problematic putative pachycephalosaurids: Synchrotron µCT imaging shines new light on the anatomy and taxonomic validity of Gravitholus albertae from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology 10
Read the paper : Problematic putative pachycephalosaurids: Synchrotron µCT imaging shines new light on the anatomy and taxonomic validity of Gravitholus albertae from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Pachycephalosauridae
Sources: Wikidata