Saurolophus

Saurolophus (/sɔːˈrɒləfəs/; meaning "lizard crest") is a genus of large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaurs that lived about 70.0–68.5 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous of North America and Asia; 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 type species, S. osborni, was described by Barnum Brown in 1912 from Canadian fossils. A second valid species, S. angustirostris, is represented by numerous specimens from Mongolia, and was described by Anatoly Konstantinovich Rozhdestvensky.

Description

Saurolophus is known from material including nearly complete skeletons, giving researchers a clear picture of its bony anatomy. S. osborni, the rarer Albertan species, was around 9.8 m long (32 ft), with its skull 1.0 m long (3.3 ft). Its weight is estimated at 1.9 tonnes (2.1 tons).S. angustirostris, the Mongolian species, was larger; the type skeleton is roughly 12 m long (39.4 ft), and larger remains are reported. Aside from size, the two species are virtually identical, with differentiation hindered by lack of study.