Saurolophus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saurolophus Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous |
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| Conservation status | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Ornithischia |
| Infraorder: | Ornithopoda |
| Family: | Hadrosauridae |
| Subfamily: | Hadrosaurinae |
| Genus: | Saurolophus Brown, 1912 |
Saurolophus was a duck-billed dinosaur. It lived during the Upper Cretaceous period, 69.5-68.5 million years ago,[1] toward the end of the Mesozoic Era.
Saurolophus had a 5 inch (13 cm) long bony spike extending up from its forehead. There is speculation that this spike was attached to a flap of skin that covered the nostrils and could be blown up for displays and noise-making. Many Saurolophus fossils have been found, including one with fossilized skin impressions, in Alberta, Canada and Mongolia, China.
References [change]
- ↑ Arbour, V. M.; Burns M.E & Sissons R.L. (2009). "A redescription of the ankylosaurid dinosaur Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus Parks, 1924 (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) and a revision of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (4): 1117–1135. doi:10.1671/039.029.0405.