Genus
Valid Extinct

Zavacephale

Chinzorig et al. 2025

Zavacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous Khuren Dukh Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, Zavacephale rinpoche, known from a partial articulated skeleton including a nearly complete skull. It is both the oldest definitive pachycephalosaur known, as well as the most complete. Its skull bears a well-developed dome structure, as seen in most members of the clade.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Zavacephale
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Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Neornithischia Unranked clade
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Pyrodontia Unranked clade
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Cerapoda Unranked clade
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Marginocephalia Unranked clade
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Pachycephalosauria Suborder
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Zavacephale Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇲🇳 Mongolia
1
Geological formations
Khuren Dukh
1
Temporal distribution
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Zavacephale rinpoche 120 Ma
News 1
Zavacephale: Beast of the Week
Zavacephale: Beast of the Week
Mongolia Cretaceous Early Cretaceous specimen Zavacephale
 This week we'll be looking at a newly described little dinosaur that greatly expands our knowledge on one of the most unusual kinds of dinosaurs, the pachycephalosaurs.  Welcome Zavacephale rinpoche!Zavacephale lived in what is now Mongolia during the early Cretaceous period, between 119 and 110 million years ago.  From snout to tail the specimen found would have only been about three feet (1 meter) in length, but it likely would have been able to grow larger.  The genus name, Zavacephale, tran
21/09/2025 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
T. Chinzorig, R. Takasaki, and J. Yoshida, R. T. Tucker, B. Buyantegsh, B. Mainbayar, K. Tsogtbaatar, L. E. Zanno. 2025. A domed pachycephalosaur from the early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Nature 646(8087):1138-1145 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
T. Chinzorig, R. Takasaki, and J. Yoshida, R. T. Tucker, B. Buyantegsh, B. Mainbayar, K. Tsogtbaatar, L. E. Zanno. 2025. A domed pachycephalosaur from the early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Nature 646(8087):1138-1145 DOI ↗