The New York Times has a fascinating look at beautiful pachycephalosaur specimen from Mongolia. The animal was recently described in a paper in the journal Nature. Zavacephale rinpoche was found in the Gobi Desert by Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University. The name means “root” and “jewel” in Tibetan, which is a reference to the fossil’s age, 115 to 108 million years old, about 14 million years earlier than scientists had thought these dinosaurs first evolved their helmet-like heads. The specimen includes intact hands and arms… and a stomach full of gastroliths (stones).

Pachycephalosaurs, often called pachys, are popular in children’s books and appear throughout the “Jurassic Park” entertainment franchise. But little is known about them. A complete pachycephalosaur skeleton has never been found, leaving scientists to glean what they can from a few dozen incomplete specimens.

After the fossil was found, it was shipped to North Carolina State for years of meticulous scientific reconstruction.

“The specimen is shockingly beautiful,” Dr. Zanno said . “The first time that we all saw it prepared, it took our breath away.”

Analysis of the fossil suggests that the live animal met an untimely end while still a juvenile. The young dinosaur was about the size of a large cat.

Despite its youth, the dinosaur’s helmet head was surprisingly well-developed.

“That tells us that this dome structure was an incredibly important aspect of pachycephalosaur biology,” Dr. Zanno said. “It evolved very early in their history, and then they just kept that strategy up through time.”