3 euros AUSTRIA 2022 - Pachycephalosaurus

3 euros AUSTRIA 2022 - Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus means "thick-headed lizard" in Greek, a particularly apt name given that the prehistoric herbivore featured on the penultimate coin in the Supersaurs series had a skull roof up to 25cm thick. As the second part of its name implies, Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis lived in what is now the northwestern United States and the province of Alberta in Canada during the late Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.

Unusually curved and with short, blunt spines protruding along its edge, Pachycephalosaurs' skull was unique among dinosaurs. Towards the front it narrowed into a small, gnarled beak and the eyes faced forward, meaning the dinosaur could see stereoscopically, as humans do, in three dimensions. Scientists disagree about the function of the skull. The first and most popular theory interprets it as a weapon to be used in interspecies combat, although this is disputed. Another theory assumes that the skull served as an individual recognition feature and exerted a signaling effect on conspecifics through its shape and color. This idea is supported by the fact that there was probably sexual dimorphism in thick-skinned dinosaurs; that is, males had larger and higher cranial roofs than females. The flatter skulls found do not show lesions, suggesting that they belonged to females or juveniles that did not have to participate in mating matches.

Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis features all 12 extreme prehistoric animals from the Supersaurs series in silhouette on its obverse. The obverse features a color printed Pachycephalosaurus threatened by a predatory Allosaurus in a prehistoric landscape. All 3 euro coins in the series are legal tender in Austria.