Alaskacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurid, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now northern Alaska. The genus is one of the few known Arctic dinosaurs and was found in the Prince Creek Formation, which preserves a menagerie of fossils. The only known specimen, a squamosal bone, was found in 1999 and later described in 2005. However, Alaskacephale was not formally named until the next year.
Alaskacephale, due to the lack of fossil remains, is poorly known. Despite this, the presence of bony protuberances from the skull prove that it was a pachycephalosaur. Later phylogenetic analyses suggest it was a close relative of Pachycephalosaurus. However, Alaskacephale is distinguished from other genera by the two rows of nodules found along the squamosal.
The Prince Creek Formation bears a variety of fossils, many of them similar to other previously known Laramidian taxa. Alaskacephale coexisted with dinosaurs like the ceratopsian Pachyrhinosaurus, ornithopod Edmontosaurus, and tyrannosaurid Nanuqsaurus in addition to mammals like Unnuakomys.
Alaskacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurid, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, that lived during the Campanian...
Pachycephalosaurini, Pachycephalosaurus is most closely related to Alaskacephale. Dracorex and Stygimoloch have also been synonymized with Pachycephalosaurus...
the ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, the pachycephalosaurid Alaskacephale, a large troodontid assigned to the dubious genus Troodon, the dromaeosaurids...
the saurolophine hadrosaurid Edmontosaurus, the pachycephalosaurin Alaskacephale gangloffi, an unnamed azhdarchid pterosaur, and the tyrannosaurine Nanuqsaurus...
Prince Creek Formation Genus Species Location Abundance Notes Images Alaskacephale A. gangloffi Kogosukruk Tongue A squamosal, and the back of the dome...
North America. One of the largest dinosaurs known from the continent Alaskacephale 2006 Prince Creek Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) United...
Museum Santonian Csehbánya Formation, Hungary Partial beak and rostrum Alaskacephale gangloffi UAM AK-493-V-001 University of Alaska Museum Early Maastrichtian...
grade, whereas the North American Pachycephalosaurus, Stygimoloch, and Alaskacephale are in a distinct group. The Asian members also are more basal, with...
Ferganocephale adenticulatum. 2006 Sullivan described the new genus and species Alaskacephale gangloffi. Bakker and others described the new genus and species Dracorex...
†Actinoceramus concentricus †Actinoceramus sulcatus †Alaskacephale – type locality for genus †Alaskacephale gangloffi – type locality for species †Allocotidus...
17 and 66 million years of age. †Actinoceramus †Alaskacephale – type locality for genus †Alaskacephale gangloffi – type locality for species †Amaltheus...
Global Information
