History Main / HeadButtingPachy

* ''VideoGame/LEGOJurassicWorld'': In the story mode there is a show that has a ''Pachycephalosaurus'' ram three pillars of solid rock.

* ''VideoGame/EVOSearchForEden'': Happen to appear occasionally in the third chapter "The Age of Dinosaurs", using the headbutt attacking method either against you or themselves. They player could attack them for some experience points or just leave them peacefully and fight each other instead.

* ''VideoGame/PrimalCarnage'': The ''Pachycephalosaurus'' is the first non-carnivorous animal (although it still heals by eating meat in-game) to be made playable. Since it has no sharp claws or teeth, its only method of attacking humans is.... well, guess.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cranidos and its evolution Rampardos are both based on pachycephalosaurs, and both are routinely shown performing headbutting attacks such as Headbutt, Take Down, Zen Headbutt and Skull Smash. Their Pokédex entries also focus almost entirely on their propensity for headbutting things, mentioning how their skulls were hard as iron and used for smashing inconveniently placed trees and taking down prey. Rampardos' entries claim it to have a foot-thick skull that shields it from any harm its headbutting may cause, although it also stifles the growth of its brain, and that a cloned specimen destroyed a skyscraper by headbutting it.

* ''WesternAnimation/Dinotrux'': Cementasaurs are a species of Dinotrux who are half-''Pachycephalosaurus'' and half-cement mixer, who use their domed heads to ram into walls and attack enemies. In the episode where the species is introduced [[ThoseTwoGuys Chunk and Crunk]] accidentally ram themselves while trying to hit Waldo.

* HeadButtingPachy: The ''Pachycephalosaurus'' is the first non-carnivorous animal (although it still heals by eating meat in-game) to be made playable. Since it has no sharp claws or teeth, its only method of attacking humans is.... well, guess.

[[folder:Anime a Manga]]

Pachycephalosaurs in fiction will be far more aggressive at the very least. They will often be shown charging at top speed into everything in sight, be it other members of their own species, bigger dinosaurs, or time machines with people inside. They're also likely to be depicted as aggressive and violent, in a departure from the usual depiction of [[HerbivoresAreFriendly plant-eating dinosaurs]] in fiction. Also, especially in older works, pachycephalosaurs will sometimes be shown as [[AnimalsNotToScale far larger than any real-life species]], being on the same scale as hadrosaurs or ceratopsids, even though ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (the largest of the bunch) was no bigger than a horse, and most of its kin, like ''Stegoceras'' and ''Prenocephale'', were dog-sized at best.

* ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'': In the "Swamps" episode, male ''Pachycephalosaur''s are depicted this way, crashing heads together to impress females. The end of the episode features a ''Prehistoric Planet'': Uncovered" segment, which breaks from the usual {{mockumentary}} format to ask [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL8lbCW1yn0 Was Pachycephalosaurus Really a Headbutter?]], laying out the evidence for (the many lesions found on the skulls themselves) and against (the argument that the animal's bones were not strong enough to absorb the impact). The showrunners commissioned an experiment using CT scanning technology of the same kind that is used to test the structural integrity of airplanes parts, and concluded that the bones were indeed strong enough.

The head-butting behavior is [[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/butting-heads-over-skull-injuries-and-dinosaur-head-butts debated in paleontology circles]]: some argue that the necks were too weak to support head-on collisions and point to the spikes and sides of the head to say pachycephalosaurs swung their heads more like one does a hammer, while others say the injuries found on pachycephalosaur skulls match head-on collisions similar to sheep and goats.

* In ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'', Rampede is a bipedal, MixAndMatchCritter dinosaur who can break crystal blocks and hidden walls in the overworld by charging into them.

* {{Defied}} in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DinosaurTrain'', where the kids meet a pair of ''Pachycephalosaurus'' siblings who headbutt each-other in the ''sides''.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosauria Pachycephalosaurid]] dinosaurs (sometimes colloquially referred to as a pachys), of which the famous ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus Pachycephalosaurus]]'' is a member, are typically shown headbutting each other much like you would see in rams, goats and oxen. They even been shown to headbutt other things with a devastating amount of force without sustaining any major injury. This was popularized by the story "A Gun for a Dinosaur", of the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Time Rivers Of Time]]'' series by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp.

This is [[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/butting-heads-over-skull-injuries-and-dinosaur-head-butts debated in paleontology circles]]: some argue that the necks were too weak to support head-on collisions and point to the spikes and sides of the head to say Pachycephalosaurs swung their heads more like one does a hammer, while others say the injuries found on Pachycephalosaur skulls match head-on collisions similar to sheep and goats.

Pachycephalosaurs in fiction will be far more aggressive at the very least. They will often be shown charging at top speed into everything in sight, be it other members of their own species, bigger dinosaurs, or time machines with people inside. They're also likely to be depicted as aggressive and violent, in a departure from the usual depiction of [[HerbivoresAreFriendly plant-eating dinosaurs]] in fiction. Also, especially in older works, pachycephalosaurs will sometimes be shown as [[AnimalsNotToScale far larger than any real-life species]], sometimes being on the same scale as hadrosaurs or ceratopsids, even though ''Pachycephalosaurus'' (the largest of the bunch) was no bigger than a horse, and most of its kin, like ''Stegoceras'' and ''Prenocephale'', were dog-sized at best.

Pachycephalosaurs in fiction will be far more aggressive at the very least. They will often be shown charging at top speed into everything in sight, be it other members of their own species, bigger dinosaurs, or time machines with people inside. They're also likely to be depicted as aggressive and violent, in a departure from the usual depiction of [[HerbivoresAreFriendly plant-eating dinosaurs]] in fiction.

* ''Anime/DaikyouryuNoJidai'': A pair of of ''Pachycephalosaurus'' are shown to be headbutting each other so hard that it not only gets the attention of other dinosaurs, but scares them too. [[spoiler:Not the ''[[KingOfTheDinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' though, he came for dinner.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DinoRanch'' has Bopper, a baby ''Pachycephalosaurus'' who has a habit of using his species' famous thick skull to butt anything he comes across.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosauria Pachycephalosaurid]] dinosaurs (sometimes colloquially referred to as a pachys), of which the famous ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus Pachycephalosaurus]]'' is a member, are typically shown headbutting each other much like you would see in rams, goats and oxen. They even been shown to headbutt other things with a devastating amount of force without sustaining any major injury. This was popularized by the story "A Gun for a Dinosaur", of the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Time Rivers Of Time]]'' series by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp. However, evidence suggests that, while their domed heads were weapons[[note]] numerous fossilized domes from the Pachycephalosauria skulls have been found with dents and other injuries; many have healed, which has been taken as evidence of combat use[[/note]], their ability and use with them has been greatly exaggerated.

Evidence for this can of course be found in the skulls of numerous members of the Pachycephalosauria family. A good example of this is how two ''Pachycephalosaurus''[[note]] a half-ton dinosaur[[/note]] were to ram each other head on at top speed they would have knocked each other out. This of course would have been a evolutionary drawback leaving them incredibly vulnerable for an extended period of time. The same problem would also of course exist if they rammed various objects like large trees, boulders and metal. The dinosaur's neck and back, though strong, are believed to be unsuited for head-on head blows. Instead, many scientists believe that the dinosaurs either pressed their heads together and pushed each other, or that they butted each other in the side.

Another issue has to do with the shape of pachycephalosaurid skulls; as their domes were rounded and relatively smooth, they wouldn't have been suited for head-on impacts, as they would have simply slid past each other on contact. The horns of creatures that do headbutt each other in the modern day, such as rams, typically have flat front-facing surfaces to avoid this exact problem.

Pachycephalosaurs in fiction, naturally, don't have these problems. They will often be shown charging at top speed into everything in sight, be it other members of their own species, bigger dinosaurs, or time machines with people inside. They're also likely to be depicted as aggressive and violent, in a departure from the usual depiction of [[HerbivoresAreFriendly plant-eating dinosaurs]] in fiction.

Naturally this is a subtrope of ArtisticLicensePaleontology, due to it being about the unrealistic portrayal of a prehistoric animal, and of UseYourHead. It's also a subtrope of AnimalStereotypes, in a rare case where the stereotype belongs to a long-extinct species. Compare RaptorAttack, GentleGiantSauropod, and SocialOrnithopod for stereotypical depictions of other dinosaur species, and TemperCeratops and ToughArmoredDinosaur in particular for another cases of herbivorous dinosaurs being portrayed as aggressive and dangerous. It also doubles as a form of BeastlyBloodsports when they're ramming each other for territory or for a mate. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Don't confuse with]] pachy''derms'' headbutting; those would be an example of RhinoRampage, CruelElephant, or AngryAngryHippos.

** ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' has Bachycelo, a Bakuryu whose thick skull can then be weaponized as a PowerFist for the giant mechas.

** ''Nobita's Dinosaur 2006'' briefly showed a pair of male ''Pachycephalosaurus'' head-butting each other to win over a female. Later, one ''Pachycephalosaurus'' rams the ship of some time-travelling poachers as the other captive dinosaurs are breaking out.

* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge3DawnOfTheDinosaurs'' where ''Pachycephalosaurus'' are never shown head-butting anything. However, this is played straight in the tie-in video game where Buck must ride on a ''Pachycephalosaurus'' and get it to break through rock walls by head-ramming them.

** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'': {{Downplayed|Trope}}, but still ultimately present with the ''Stygimoloch'' who manages to [[BatteringRam ram down a brick wall and a steel cage door]]. Although it did take the dinosaur a unspecified amount of time it is the only dinosaur to have broken out despite the fact that several dinosaur powerhouses (''T. rex'', ''Triceratops'', ect.) were also kept in similar cages. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Worth noting that the experience does leave its mark on the animal, as it seems fairly dizzy and disoriented for some time after this]].

* In ''Literature/TheLostWorld1995'' paleontologist Levine points out several pachys to the kids, noting their reinforced skulls presumably used to butt heads in dominance displays. Malcolm [[DeadpanSnarker dryly]] notes "Yes, butting heads. Exactly as you see them doing right now," ([[SubvertedTrope the pachys are just milling about and grazing, utterly peaceful]]). Levine exasperatedly retorts that such thick skull reinforcement must have had ''some'' purpose. Later, Sarah Harding runs afoul of a herd of pachys, specifically comparing them modern animals like cows, American bison, and African buffalo, who are three distinctly different degrees of dangerous. The pachys turn out to have something of a HairTriggerTemper, and [[DoubleSubverted charge at just about anything they perceive as a threat]]. . . which, in this instance, includes Sarah Harding.

* ''WesternAnimation/DinoRanch'' has Bopper, a baby ''Pachycephalosaurus'' who has a habit of using his species' famous thick skull to butt literally anything he comes across.

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