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This
is how the skull of Pawpawsaurus looked when first excavated from
the Paw Paw Formation. The white strips are pieces of tape which
held the various skull fragments together prior to cleaning. Attached to
the top of the skull were many fossilized oyster shells which grew on it
before it became fossilized. |
| A
view of the underside of the skull, in which the rows of empty tooth sockets
can clearly be seen. Two teeth were still present - most of them
probably fell out prior to fossilization. Pawpawsaurus and
other nodosaurs were herbivorous. Their teeth are quite small and
look somewhat like tiny, serrated leaves. Such teeth were designed
for cutting vegetation rather than chewing it. The function of grinding
up food was accomplished instead by the digestive system.
Nodosaurs were among
the more primitive of the Ankylosauria. They had more elongated and
narrower skulls than their more heavily armored ankylosaurid relatives. |
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Comparison images
of the skull before and after palaeontological preparation. When I first
discovered the skull, there were a few small fragments missing. Fortunately,
most of the missing bits were later tracked down with the dedicated assistance
of fellow dinosaur enthusiasts Robert Reid and John Maurice.
(
more
photos on following
pages )
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