The Mongolian fossils of Zavacephale rinpoche are at least 14 million years older than the previously oldest known pachycephalosaur, Sinocephale from China.
Notes on verification
Verbatim claim matches peer-reviewed Nature paper and is corroborated by multiple independent science news outlets reporting the same figure and context. [tier=gold indep_score=0.867 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Dome-headed dinosaurs are rare. Scientists just found the most ... (seed:science_and_space)
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09213-6 (corroboration)
- https://greekreporter.com/2025/09/19/oldest-complete-dome-headed-dinosaur-mongolia/ (corroboration)
- https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Zavacephale (corroboration)