Duckbill Dinosaur skull Saurolophus angustirostris
Discovered in Mongolia, Nemegt formation
Age: Late Cretaceous
Saurolophus (meaning "reptile crest") is a genus of large hadrosaurine duckbill dinosaur that lived in North America (Canada) and Asia (Mongolia); it is one of the few genera of dinosaurs known from multiple continents. It is distinguished by a spike-like crest which projects up and back from the skull. Saurolophus was a herbivorous dinosaur which could move about either bipedally or quadrupedally.
The distinctive spike-like crest of Saurolophus has been interpreted in multiple ways, and could have had multiple functions. brown suggested it could provide an area for muscle attachment and a connection point for a nonbody back frill like that seen in the basilisk lizard. Peter Dodson interpreted it as having use in sexual identification. Maryanska and Osmolska, noting the hollow base, suggested that the crest increased the surface area of the respiratory cavity, and helped in thermoregulation. James Hopson supported a function as a visual signal, and further mentioned the possibility that there were inflatable skin flaps over the nostrils that could have acted as resonators and additional visual signals.
Resin cast measures: 14 x 29 x 7 Inches
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