Acrotholus fossil map
Where fossils of Acrotholus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 85 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 85 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Horned & dome-headed dinosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 85.7–83.6 million years ago (Santonian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Pachycephalosauridae |
| Named by | Evans et al. 2013 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Canada |
| Rock formations | Milk River |
About Acrotholus
Acrotholus (Greek for "highest dome"- akros meaning highest and tholos meaning dome) is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Santonian of the late Cretaceous, in the Milk River Formation of Canada. The type species, A. audeti, was named after Roy Audet allowing access to his ranch leading to the discovery of the species. The discovery of this specimen lead to several new revelations in the fossil records questioning the preservation of small-bodied organisms along with the evolution of early pachycephalosaurs. The iconic cranial dome found on Acrotholus makes it one of the earliest indisputable known members of the pachycephalosaur family. Like others of its clade, Acrotholus was a bipedal herbivore characterized by a dome-shaped head. The dome had often been associated with intra-species combat, although the exact methods of contact have been debated.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Acrotholus (revision 1345132977), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q12973012.
