Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus walkeri
The hollow crest offers a rare window into communication and recognition in dinosaurs.
Image: Zissoudisctrucker · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Parasaurolophus walkeri
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian)
- Lived
- 76–73 Ma (76 million years ago)
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Habitat
- Plains, Forest
- Length (estimate)
- 9 m
- Mass (estimate)
- 2,500 kg
Description
Parasaurolophus was a large hadrosaur with a long, backward-curving hollow crest. Airflow through the crest could produce sound and perhaps help individuals recognise one another, although the exact sound is reconstructed rather than directly known. Its broad beak and rows of replacement teeth were suited to grinding plants. Fossils of different ages help trace changes in the crest and skull during growth.
Habitat
River deltas with conifers, flowering plants and marsh zones.
Fossil sites
Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta
Dinosaur Park Formation
Cultural profile: Canada →
Contemporaries in the database
Sources: Parasaurolophus