Dracorex

A group of paleontologists dust off three fossils that fit together to form part of a dinosaur skull in South Dakota in 2004. Could this be a never-before-discovered dinosaur? They take their find to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in Indiana to find out.

Howarts dino

The skull is covered in spikes and horns, and much flatter than other thickheaded dinosaurs. Scientists haven’t seen a fossilized skull quite like this one before, so they put it on display for museum visitors to help name it. The spiky creature reminds people of dragons from fantasy books and movies, especially the Harry Potter series. So scientists named the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, which means “dragon king of Hogwarts,” after the magical school. But this dino isn’t as scary as it appears—it was a plant-eater, and those spikes might’ve helped fight back against predators or win a mate.

Just a youngster?

Other scientists disagree that Dracorex is its own species. Instead they think that it could be a young Pachycephalosaurus. As the juvenile dino grew into an adult, its headgear would have changed shape. Even if Dracorex isn’t a separate species, it probably won’t lose its special name. But it would help scientists learn a lot more about how dinosaurs grew up!