Parasaurolophus
Pah-rah-sore-o-loe-fus
Name meaning:Near Crested Lizard
Time Period:Campanian (Late Cretaceous) 76.9–73.5 Mya
Locations: Alberta-DinosaurPark Formation/New Mexico-Kirtland Formation/Utah-Kaiparowits Formation
Taxonomy:Ornithischia,-Hadrosauridae-Lambeosaurinae
Subspecies: P. walkeri P. tubicen P. cyrtocristatus
Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~
Reaching around 9.5 meters in length and weighing over 5 metric tons. It is primarily quadrupedal
but could easily rear up and stand on its hind legs to reach higher places and run faster.
Parasaurolophus crest acted as a renaissance chamber before sound would exit its mouth it
would go through the crest amplifying the noise. Its calls would have sounded like a horn
and could reach frequencies between 55 and 720 Hz and around 90-110 decibels, their ears were also
specifically adapted for hearing these calls, particularly higher-pitched noises offspring
may produce. Parasaurolophus were also sexually dimorphic with the males having larger, more
elongated crests while the females had shorter, more curved crests. Parasaurolophus needed this
specialization to set itself apart from the other hadrosaurs of the formation most of which
coexisting or lived very closely in time or location to Parasaurolophus those being:
Prosaurolophus, Gryposaurus, Corythosaurus, Lambeosaurus. These Hadrosaurs likely had lived
in multispecies herds, identifying each other by their crests leading to them diversifying
in diverse shapes examples being Corythosaurus crest looking like a bicycle helmet and
Lambeosaurus looking a thumbs up. Other dinosaurs in the Dinosaur park formation are
Centrosaurus like Styracosaurus
and Chasmosaurus, ornithomimids like Struthiomimus, ankylosaurus like Eupocephalus and
Tyrannosaurs like Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus. Charonosaurus was a species that was closely
related to Parasaurolophus all the way in China and Russia the species of Parasaurolophus:
P. jiayinensis was placed under the name Charonosaurus they are physically very similar with
the only immediately noticeable feature being that Charonosaurus was larger.
History & Fossils ~ ~ ~ ~
Holotype ROM 768 was found at sandy creek near Red Deer River in Alberta. There were many interpretations to what the purpose of Parasaurolophus's crest was. For example it was at one point believed to allow it to breathe fire. Alfred Sherwood Romer led a theory that the crest was used as a snorkel, believing it could breathe through it when underwater. Its curved shape and formations Parasaurolphus being found in not having enough water to justify that level of specification.
Media Deptictions ~ ~ ~ ~
Jurassic Park Parasaurolophus is featured in all movies with its most notable appearence in The Lost World where it is being wrangled up close. Parasaurolophus mostly just runs away as a herd animal and does not do much else. The design is pretty outdated being mostly bipedal and having a thin neck. A Special shoutout to Jurassic World Dominion Parasaurs which look extra photogenic with their extra wrinkly face, longer crests and more accurate hands.
Prehistoric Kingdom
