Rugops

dinosaur · Africa · predator · Cretaceous

Wrinkly skull. Rugops had pits and ridges all over the top of its head, like a golf ball. Scientists think these bumps were covered with tough scales that made its skull look extra armored and intimidating.

Desert hunter. This dinosaur was a carnivore about the size of a large lion, weighing around 900 pounds. It prowled the ancient deserts of what is now Niger in Africa, hunting smaller dinosaurs and animals.

Mystery from skull. We only know about Rugops from a partial skull that was discovered in 2004. Scientists had to figure out what the whole dinosaur looked like based on just this one piece, which is like solving a puzzle with most of the picture missing.

Ancient Africa. Rugops lived during the Late Cretaceous period, over 90 million years ago, in a place called the Echkar Formation. This area in Niger was hot and dry, very different from the wet jungles where other famous dinosaurs lived.

Armored snout. The front of Rugops's snout was tough and leathery, like built-in armor. This hard skin probably helped it wrestle with prey or protected it during fights with other dinosaurs.