Build & Characteristics
- Name means “Beside Crested Lizard” because it had a long, hollow and bony crest that was about 6 feet long on the top of its head.
- Measured an average of 40 feet long and 8 feet tall and weighed an average of 4000 pounds (2 tons) almost the weight of a modern day Hippo.
- Traveled in herds
- It was a “duck billed” dinosaur or a Hadrosaurs and had a toothless horny beak and numerous cheek teeth.
- It used its teeth to clip off tough vegetation from trees and shrubs then ground them up. The front teeth would erode away over time and new ones would come to the front.
- Thanks to studies, the mystery of the crest at the top of its head was solved. Paleontologists replicated a crest and using blast of air it produced a deep and resonating sound. This may have helped the animal communicate with the other members of its herd, to inform others of danger and to communicate during courtship.
- The crest may have also lent itself to being a temperature regulator. Most likely these animals were cold-blooded and the crest could have stored heat from the day to help keep the animal warm during the night.
History
- Lived during the Cretaceous Period (76-65 million years ago).
- Its environment consisted of rivers and floodplains and grew wetter as the years went on becoming more like a swampland.
- During the Cretaceous period these animals were the largest land animal. They may have been capable of running short distances on their hind legs at 25 miles per hour. They did however spend most of their time on all fours searching the ground for vegetation and possibly used the quick sprint to evade predators.
Discovery
- Parasaurolophus was first discovered in Canada in 1922 by Dr. William A. Parks.
- The first specimen of Parasaurolophus was only a skull and partial skeleton.
- Specimens of Parasaurolophus have also been found in New Mexico and Utah, and even China.