Episode 402: The amazing paleontologist who inspired Indiana Jones. Roy Chapman Andrews fought through the Gobi Desert to make some miraculous dinosaur discoveries including Velociraptor, Oviraptor, and some amazing dinosaur nests.

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The dinosaur of the day: Gravitholus

• Pachycephalosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Alberta, Canada (Dinosaur Park Formation)
• Looked somewhat similar to Pachycephalosaurus, with a domed head, walked on two legs, had short arms
• Estimated to be 9.8 ft (3 m) long
• Type species is Gravitholus albertae
• Holotype is an incomplete, heavily fused skull roof
• Described in 1979 by W. P. Wall and Peter Galton
• Genus name means “heavy dome”
• May have head butted, for mates or territory
• Debate over whether Gravitholus is distinct or synonymous with Stegoceras
• In 2020, Aaron Dyer and Mark Powers used Synchrotron imaging to study the skull roof, and proposed Gravitholus was synonymous with Stegoceras
• Found the differences between Gravitholus and Stegoceras were due to ontogeny, and that the Gravitholus specimen was mature
• Other pachycephalosaurs known from Dinosaur Park Formation include Stegoceras, Hanssuesia, and Foraminacephale, though it’s not clear if they lived at the same time

Fun Fact:

Roy Chapman Andrews was indirectly the inspiration for the character Indiana Jones.

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