Hadrosaur («duck-billed» dinosaur), ornithopod
Ornithischians
Late Cretaceous, 76 million years ago
North America: Alberta, Canada, New Mexico and Utah in the USA
3.600Kg
4,9m
11m
The Parasaurolophus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 76 to 73 million years ago, in what is now North America. This dinosaur is known for its distinctive cranial crest and adaptation to various environments.
Want to see it life-size? The Parasaurolophus is waiting for you at Dinosaurland, alongside dozens more dinosaurs.
It was a large herbivore with a sturdy body and a long tail that kept it balanced. It walked on all fours most of the time, but it could rise up on its hind legs to run or reach higher branches. In its mouth it had a broad, toothless beak at the front and, further back, batteries of teeth that it replaced as they wore down. The skin impressions that survive show it had scaly skin with a pebbled texture. Even so, what makes it unmistakable is on its head: that tube-shaped crest projecting backwards.
The Parasaurolophus's crest was a hollow tube connected to its airways, and that very specific shape is what has sparked the most theories. The best-supported explanation today is that it produced deep, resonant sounds, handy for communicating over distances within the herd. On top of that come two other likely functions: recognising individuals (by species, age or sex) and helping to regulate body temperature. In fact, thanks to the shape of those internal channels, scientists have been able to recreate how it might have sounded, something you can say about very few dinosaurs.
As a typical hadrosaur, it was a herbivore well equipped to process tough plants. It cut vegetation with its beak and ground it down with its dental batteries before swallowing, a more sophisticated chewing system than that of other plant-eaters of its time. Its diet included leaves, twigs and conifer needles, and it could reach food up to about four metres off the ground. It's thought to have been a little choosier than its broad-beaked relatives about what it ate.
The Parasaurolophus lived during the Late Cretaceous, between 76 and 73 million years ago, in what is now North America. Its fossils turn up mainly in Alberta (Canada), New Mexico and Utah (USA), in landscapes that back then were warm and humid, with plains, forests and plenty of vegetation. The first fossil was found in 1920 in Alberta and described in 1922 by the palaeontologist William Parks, who named the type species Parasaurolophus walkeri.
Three species are recognised within the genus. Parasaurolophus walkeri, the type species described in 1922, with fossils from Alberta. Parasaurolophus tubicen, described in 1931 from remains found in New Mexico and belonging to an even larger animal. And Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, identified in 1961 in New Mexico and Utah, with a shorter, curved crest. Those differences in the crest could be down to sex, age or adaptations to different environments.
A few things about this dinosaur surprise even people who think they already know everything about dinos:
Reading that it was ten metres long is one thing; standing right in front of it is another entirely. At Dinosaurland there's a life-size Parasaurolophus, set within an open-air trail designed for a family day out, alongside dozens more dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex or the Diplodocus. It's a great plan for spending the morning with the kids, learning loads and rounding off the day at the Dinoburger.
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The crest was a hollow tube connected to its airways. The best-supported explanation is that it produced deep sounds to communicate over distances, as well as helping individuals recognise one another and, probably, regulate temperature.
It was a herbivore. With its toothless beak and the dental batteries at the back, it cut and ground leaves, twigs and conifer needles. It could reach vegetation up to about four metres off the ground.
It was around 10 metres long and about 4.9 metres tall, with an estimated weight between 2.5 and 5 tonnes depending on the study. Its crest reached close to 1.8 metres.
In the Late Cretaceous, between 76 and 73 million years ago, in what is now North America: Alberta (Canada), New Mexico and Utah (USA).
Yes. At Dinosaurland there's a life-size Parasaurolophus, alongside many other dinosaurs, on a trail designed for the whole family. Buy your tickets online and plan your visit.
The Parasaurolophus is one of those dinosaurs that captivate grown-ups and kids alike: an impossible head, a two-metre trumpet and a story palaeontologists are still debating. The best way to understand it is to see it up close.
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