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| 'Lambeosaurines? LAMBEOSAURINES? Saurolophus MEANS "crested reptile," sonny!' |
Meaning: narrow-beaked crested reptile
Time: Late Cretaceous, c 72 million years ago
Place: Mongolia
Size: 13 metres (42.7 feet) long and at least 11 tonnes (12.1 tons); some specimens may be even larger
Type of Dinosaur: saurolophin saurolophine (spike-crested flat-headed duckbill)
Saurolophus angustirostris is Asia's best-known duckbill, with many specimens known from hatchlings to gigantic adults, many coming from a site called 'the Dragon's Tomb.' There are several skin impressions known from Saurolophus angustirostris, which show raised scales along the back, and small 'basement scales' studding the skin, with occasional larger scales scattered in between. Those are the rounded scales visible on this guy. Unlike many other duckbills, like Lambeosaurus the similarly-named Parasaurolophus, Saurolophus and its nearest relatives did not have large, hollow crests. Saurolophus was named for the solid, spike-like crest on the top of its head, which did not contain nasal passages like the hollow-crested duckbills' wacky headgear did.
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