Corythosaurus was a late Cretaceous hadrosaur that lived in what is now North America, about 77-76.5 million years ago.[1] Its name means "helmet lizard", derived from Greek. It was named and described in 1914 by Barnum Brown, and classified as a trachodontid. Corythosaurus has an estimated length of 9 metres (30 ft) long, 6.6 feet (2 meters) tall at the hips, and weighed 3-5 tons, and has a skull, including the crest, that is 70.8 centimetres (27.9 in) tall.
It is known from many complete specimens, including a nearly complete holotype found by Brown in 1912. The holotype skeleton is only missing the last section of the tail, and part of the forelimbs, but was preserved with impressions of polygonal scales. The specimen was found among marine sediments, and around it were preserved elements of the bivalve Unio, and an indeterminate turtle. The preserved sections of the forelimbs include the scapulae, coracoids, humeri, ulnae, radii, and phalanges.
Many species of Corythosaurus were known before 1975, but in that year, Peter Dodson studied and described many gender-related crest traits. These traits showed that the many species which were distinguished by crest shape and size were likely synonyms. Dodson found that all the species were the same, but now C. intermedius is recognized as valid. Corythosaurus is now thought to be a lambeosaurine, related to Nipponosaurus, Velafrons, Hypacrosaurus, and Olorotitan.
Corythosaurus is known from many skulls with tall crests. The crests resemble the crests of the cassowary and a Corinthian helmet. Originally, the crests were thought to be used as a snorkel, to breathe through when swimming. The problem with that was that there were no holes in the top of the crest to allow air through. Later, they were thought to be air reserves, to breathe when underwater. A problem with that theory was that underwater, unless the animal had some way of pressurizing the air, the lungs would not be able to expand. Currently, the most likely scenario is that the crest was used for vocalization. Like a trombone, the air would travel through many chambers in the crest, and then get amplified when Corythosaurus exhaled. It was thought to be aquatic, based on the misidentification of foot padding, that was thought to be webbing.
Corythosaurus is well-known from two formations of Alberta, the Oldman and Dinosaur Park formations. In the Dinosaur Park Formation, along with the Judith River, and Mesaverde formations, and also the Wind River Basin and the Wheatland County areas, Corythosaurus was found associated with Centrosaurus. Many taxa were found alongside Corythosaurus is the formations, and the only two large predators found in the same area as Corythosaurus were Gorgosaurus and Daspletosaurus.
Corythosaurus may have used air passage in its crest to make honking, lowing, bellowing and booming calls.
Description[]
Size of C. casuarius (left, red) and C. intermedius (right, yellow) compared to a human.
Benson et al. in 2012 they estimated that Corythosaurus has an average length of 9 meters. Richard Swann Lull's previous length estimate, published in 1942, found a slightly longer total length of 9.4 meters, a similar size to Lambeosaurus lambei, another lambeosaurinid. Canadian. In 1962, Edwin H. Colbert used models of specific dinosaurs, including Corythosaurus , to calculate their weight. The Corythosaurus model used was modeled by Vincent Fusco from a mounted skeleton, and supervised by Barnum Brown. After testing, it was concluded that the average weight of Corythosaurus was 3.82 tons. More recent size estimates of Corythosaurus , published in 2001, find the genus to be among the largest hadrosaurids, smaller only than Shantungosaurus and Parasaurolophus . The total length of the Corythosaurus specimen AMNH 5240 was 8.1 meters, with a weight of 3.0785 tons.
Proportionally, the skull is much shorter and smaller than that of Edmontosaurus , formerly Trachodon , Kritosaurus or Saurolophus , but when includes its crest, its surface area is almost as large.
It was about 30–33 feet long from nose to tail, weighed in at 4 tonnes, and had a circular crest on its head formed from long nasal passages,[2] in the shape of a helmet flattened on the sides (Corythosaurus means "helmet lizard"). Males had larger crests than females and juveniles. Like all hadrosaurs it could switch between two legs and four. The beak of Corythosaurus had no teeth, but the back of the jaws had hundreds. These were used to crush and grind plants and when teeth were lost, it grew new ones.
Corythosaurus is known from juveniles and adults. Therefore, it is known when it started developing its crests. Its crests started developing when half the size of adults, but Parasaurolophus juveniles grew crests when only 25% as long as adults. The age in which individuals developed crests might influence why Parasaurolophus has such a large crest compared with other lambeosaurines.
Corythosaurus has been preserved with skin impressions. The impressions are of polygonal tuberculate scales, and they vary in size over different sections of the body. Other impressions are of conical limpet-like scales that are only preserved on a fold of skin on the back of the tibia. The skin preserved on the tibia was probably from the bottom of the belly, instead of on the leg, so leg scalation is not well known among hadrosaurids. Separating the polygonal scales of C. casuarius are shield feature-scales, which are arranged close together in rows.
Based on the climate of the Late Cretaceous, Benson et al. (2010) guessed that Corythosaurus would have been a selective feeder, eating only the juiciest fruits and youngest leaves. Corythosaurus specimens have been preserved with its last meal in its chest cavity. Inside the cavity were remains of conifer needles, seeds, twigs, and fruits, meaning that Corythosaurus probably fed on all of these.
Skull[]
Life restoration of C. casuarius
More than 20 skulls have been found from this dinosaur. As with all lambeosaurs, it bore a tall, bony crest on top of its skull, which had the long nasal passages.[2] The nasal passages extended along the crest, first into separate pouches on the sides, then into a single central chamber and then to the respiratory system. The skull of the type specimen has no dermal impressions on it. During conservation, it was compressed laterally, so that the width is now about two-thirds of what it would have been in life. According to Brown, the compression also caused the nasals to move where they pressed on the premaxillae. Because they were pressed on the premaxillae, the nasals would have closed the nostrils. Apart from the compression, the skull appears to be normal. Contrary to what Brown assumed, the areas in question were entirely part of the praemaxillary.
The crests of Corythosaurus resemble those of a cassowary, or a Corinthian helmet. They are formed by a combination of the premaxillary, nasal, prefrontal and frontal bones, as in Saurolophus , but instead of projecting backwards like a spine, they are They rise to form the highest point above the orbit. The two halves of the ridge are separated by a median suture. In front of the orbit, the crest is made of thick bone.
Skull of the type specimen
The nasals make up most of the ridge. Brown surmised that they extended from the tip of the beaks to the highest point along the crest and that, unlike other genera, the nasals meet centrally and are not separated by an ascending premaxillary process. Brown, however, confused the premaxillae with the nasals. The snout is actually largely made up of them and they separate the nostrils. Brown also thought that at the top and back of the crest, the entire external face is covered by the frontals. He again made a mistake, what he assumed as the frontals are, in fact, the nasals. The nostrils end at the back of the squamosals in a short, hooked process. The prefrontals also form part of the crest, however, Brown confused the lower part of the upper ramus of the premaxilla with the prefrontal. The shape of the actual prefrontal, triangular, located on the base side of the crest, was seen by Brown as part of the frontal. The actual frontals, largely internal to the ridge base structure, are not visible from the side.
The mouth of the holotype Corythosaurus is narrow. The premaxillae each form two long folds. The folds enclose air passages that extend through the nasal passages to the front of the snout. There they end in narrow openings, sometimes called "pseudonarines", false nostrils. Brown confused them with real noses or nostrils. They are actually located inside the ridge, above the eye sockets. As in Saurolophus , the expanded portion of the premaxilla in front of the opening of the pseudonarinae is elongated; in comparison, in Kritosaurus , the beak is short, and the pseudonarinae extend much further forward. At the end of the beak of Corythosaurus , the two pseudonarinas join into one. Due to his incorrect identification, Brown assumed that the lower process of the premaxilla of the holotype was shorter than in Kritosaurus and Saurolophus , and that the process does not join with the lacrimal, another difference of those genera. The praemaxillary actually touches the lacrimal and extends towards the back until far behind the eye socket.
The lower jaw of the holotype measures 66.9 centimeters long and 10 centimeters deep. The total length of the crest from the beak to the highest tip of the type specimen is 83.7 centimeters, its total length is 81.2 centimeters and a height of 70.8 centimeters.
Soft tissue[]
Replica of skin impressions
Abdominal skin impressions from Brown (1916)
In the holotype of C. casuarius , the sides and tail of the body are covered in scales of various types. The polygonal tuberculate scales, covered with small bumps, vary in size over the body. The conical limpet-shaped scales are only preserved in a preserved skin fold on the back of the tibia, but which was probably part of the lower abdomen region, rather than the leg. Separating the polygonal scales of C casuarius there are shield-shaped scales, closely packed in rows. Ossified tendons are present in all vertebrae, except those in the cervical region. In no vertebra do the tendons extend below the transverse processes. Each tendon is flattened at its origin and is transversely ovoid in the central region, ending in a rounded point.
Apart from those found in Corythosaurus casuarius , extensive skin impressions have been found in Edmontosaurus annectens and a notable integumentary has been found in Brachylophosaurus canadensis , Gryposaurus Notabilis , Parasaurolophus walkeri , Lambeosaurus magnicristatus , L. lambei , Saurolophus angustirsotris and in unidentified ornithopods. Of these, L. lambei , C. casuarius , G.notabilis , P. walkeri and S. angustirsotris have preserved polygonal scales. The scales on L. lambei , S. angustirostris and C. casuarius are all similar. Corythosaurus is one of the few hadrosaurids to have preserved skin impressions on the hind limbs and feet. A study in 2013 showed that among hadrosaurids, Saurolophus angustirostris preserved the best and most complete integumentation of feet and limbs, although other species such as S. osborni , Edmontosaurus annectens and Lambeosaurus lambei (= L. clavinitialis ) share a good amount of preserved tissue in the regions.
It was once thought that this dinosaur lived most of its time in the water, due to the webbed hands and feet. However, it was later found that the so-called "webs" were in fact deflated padding, much like that found on many modern mammals.
Distinguishing characteristics[]
Skeleton at AMNH
One set of characters was noted by Barnum Brown in 1914 to distinguish Corythosaurus from all other Alberta hadrosaurids, a comparatively short skull with a large helmet-like crest formed by the nasals, prefrontals, and frontals. The nasals are not separated in front by the premaxillae, a narrow beak, with a frontal expansion to an elongated nose; and a small nasal opening.
In 1916 in the revised version, Brown expanded the character set to include more features, a comparatively short skull with a high helmet-shaped crest formed by nasals, prefrontals and frontals, the nasals not being separated of the forehead by the premaxillaries, a narrow beak, expanded section in front of the elongated nostrils, a small opening of the nose, a vertebral formula of 15 cervical, 19 dorsal, 8 sacral and more than 61 caudal, possession of dorsal spines of medium height, tall anterior caudal spines, long chevrons, long scapulae, possessing a blade of medium width, a radius considerably longer than the humerus, comparatively short metacarpals, an anteriorly curved ilium, a long ischium with a terminal expansion similar to a foot, a pubis with an anterior lamina that is short and widely expanded at the end, a femur that is longer than the tibia; the phalanges of the foot are short, that the integument on the sides and the tail is composed of polygonal tuberculate scales without a pattern, but of graduated size on different parts of the body and a belly with longitudinal rows of large conical limpet-shaped scales separated by uniformly large polygonal tubercles. The supposed snout features are incorrect because Brown confused the premaxillae with the nasal bones and the nasal bones with the frontal bones. It is now known that most postcranial features are shared with other lambeosaurines.
Classification[]
ROM 870, the skull of a subadult, originally named as a separate species, C. brevicristatus
Originally, Brown referred to Corythosaurus as a member of the family Trachodontidae, now Hadrosauridae. Within Trachodontidae were the subfamilies Trachodontinae and Saurolophinae. Brown classified Hadrosaurus , Trachodon , Claosaurus and Kritosaurus in Trachodontinae and Corythosaurus , Stephanosaurus and Saurolophus in Saurolophinae.
Brown later revised the phylogeny of Corythosaurus , and discovered that it was closely related to, and possibly the ancestor of, Hypacrosaurus . The only differences he found between them were the development of the vertebrae and the proportions of the limbs. During a study of dinosaur iliac bones in the 1920s, Alfred Sherwood Romer proposed that the two orders of dinosaurs could have evolved separately. , and that birds, depending on the shape and proportions of their ilium, could be specialized ornithischians. He used Tyrannosaurus and Corythosaurus as base models to analyze which theory was most likely to be true. He discovered that, although birds are thought to be saurischians, it is very plausible that they evolved their specific musculature and pelvic anatomy if they evolved from ornithischians such as Corythosaurus . However, even though Corythosaurus more closely resembles modern birds in pelvic structure than to the saurischians, birds are now believed to have descended from the latter.
ROM 845, mounted skeleton of Corythosaurus cf. intermedius cf. excavatus Parks 1935 at the Royal Ontario Museum
Corythosaurus is classified as a hadrosaurid, in the subfamily Lambeosaurinae. It is related to other hadrosaurs such as Hypacrosaurus, Lambeosaurus and Olorotitan, aside from Olorotitan, they all share similar looking skulls and crests. But, recent research has shown that Olorotitan is Corythosaurus closest known relative even though it lacks most of the skull traits of most lambeosaurs.[3] Benson et al . in 2012 they found that Corythosaurus was closely related to Velafrons , Nipponosaurus and Hypacrosaurus and that they formed a group of fan-crested lambeosaurines.
In 2014, a study including Zhanghenglong 's description was published in the journal PLOS ONE. The study included a nearly complete cladogram of hadrosauroid relationships, including Corythosaurus as the most derived lambeosaurinid, as a sister taxon to Hypacrosaurus .
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History[]
Fossil holotype specimen AMNH 5240 partially covered in skin impressions
The first specimen, AMNH 5240, was discovered in 1912 by Barnum Brown in Red Deer River, Alberta.[4] Fossils have been found in the upper Oldman Formation and lower Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada.[1] As well as an almost complete skeleton, the find was remarkable because much of the creature's fossilized skin had also survived. The specimen came from the Belly River Group of the province. The left or underside of the skeleton was preserved in carbonaceous clay, making it difficult to expose the skin. The skeleton was articulated, and only missing about the last 0.61 metres (2.0 ft) of the tail and the forelimbs. Both scapulae and coracoids are preserved in position, but the rest of the forelimbs are gone, except for phalanges and pieces of humeri, ulnae and radii. Apparently the remaining forelimbs were weathered or eroded away. Impressions of the integument were preserved covering over a large part of the skeletons outlining, and shows the form of the body. Another specimen was found in 1914 by Brown and Peter Kaisen. Both specimens are now housed in the American Museum of Natural History in their original death poses.
Excavation of the holotype specimen of C. casuarius by the Red Deer River
The type species, Corythosaurus casuarius , was named by Barnum Brown in 1914, based on the first specimen collected by him in 1912. AMNH 5240 is therefore the holotype. In 1916, the original author, Brown, published a more detailed description which was also based on AMNH 5338 , whose specimen is therefore the plesiotype. Corythosaurus is one of many lambeosaurinids that possess crests, and it was the crest that gave Corythosaurus its name . The generic name Corythosaurus is derived from the Greek κόρυθος , korythos, "Corinthian helmet", and means "helmeted lizard". The specific name casuarius refers to the cassowary, a bird with a similar cranial crest. The full binomial of Corythosaurus casuarius means "cassowary-type reptile, with a Corinthian helmet crest."
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Quarry with one of the specimens lost at sea in 1916
The two greatly-preserved specimens of Corythosaurus, found by Charles H. Sternberg in 1912, were sunk while being carried to the United Kingdom in 1917. They were being sent to Arthur Smith Woodward, a paleontologist in England, when they were sunk in the middle of the ocean.
There were originally up to seven species described including C. casaurius, C. bicristatus, (Parks 1935) C. brevicristatus (Parks 1935), C. excavatus (Gilmore 1923), C. frontalis(Parks 1935), and C. intermedius(Parks 1923). In 1975 Peter Dodson studied the differences between the skulls and crests of different species of lambeosaurine dinosaurs. He found that the differences in size and shape may have actually been related to the gender and age of the animal. Now only one species is recognized for certain, C. casuarius, although C. intermedius has been recognized as valid in some recent studies. It is based on specimen ROM 776 , a skull found by Levi Sternberg in 1920 and was named by William Parks in 1923, who had originally named it Stephanosaurus intermedius earlier that year. The specific name of C. intermedius is derived from its intermediate position apparent according to Parks. C. intermedius lived slightly later in the Campanian than C. casuarius and the two species are not identical, which supported the separation of them in a 2009 study.
Etymology[]
Corythosaurus was named after a specimen collected by Barnum Brown in 1912. It is among many lambeosaurines that possess crests, and it was the crest that lends Corythosaurus its name. Corythosaurus is derived from Greek, and means "helmeted lizard".
Like other hadrosaurs, it had a hollow, bony crest on top of its long head in the shape of a helmet flattened on the sides (Corythosaurus means "helmet lizard"). Its likely functions were sound projection and recognition. Males had larger crests than females and juveniles.
Locomotion[]
Corythosaurus was like other hadrosaurids, and could move on both two legs and all fours (meaning that it was bipedal and quadrupedal), as shown by footprints of related animals. It had a long tail stiffened by ossified tendons that prevented it from drooping. The hands had four fingers, lacking the innermost finger of the generalized five-fingered tetrapod hand, while the second, third, and fourth fingers were bunched together and bore hooves, suggesting the animal could have used the hands for support. The fifth finger was free and could be used to manipulate objects. Each foot had only the three central toes.
Paleobiology[]
The bony rings in Corythosaurus's eyes were compared to those of modern birds and reptiles, which shows that it may have been active through the day at short times.[5]
Outdated 1916 restoration showing C. casuarius as semi-aquatic
Its nasal passages extended to the crest, first to separate pockets in the sides, then into a central chamber in the respiratory system.[2]
The internal structures of the Corythosaurus crest are quite complex, making it possible to use it to make a call that could be used to warn or attract a mate. The nasal passages of Corythosaurus , as well as Hypacrosaurus and Lambeosaurus, are S-shaped, and Parasaurolophus only possesses U-shaped tubes. Any vocalization would go through these chambers, and probably get louder.[2] Scientists think that Corythosaurus could make loud, low pitched cries "[L]ike a wind or brass instrument."[2] The sounds could serve to alert other Corythosaurus if they found food or saw a predator.[2] The nasal passages emit low frequency sounds when Corythosaurus exhales. Individual crests would produce different sounds, so it is likely that each species of lambeosaurine would have had a unique sound. However, although the range for different lambeosaurine nasal passages varies, they all probably made low-pitched sounds. This could be because quiet sounds, below 400 Hz, travel a set distance in any environment, while louder sounds, above 400 Hz, have a greater dispersion in the distance traveled.
When they were first described, crested hadrosaurids were believed to be aquatic, an assessment incorrectly based on the webbing now known as filler. The theory was that the animals could swim deep in the water and use the ridge to store air for breathing. However, it has now been shown that the ridge had no holes at the end, and the water pressure at even 3 meters would be too great for lungs to inflate.
Growth[]
ROM 759, a juvenile skull, originally named as a separate species, Tetragonosaurus erectofrons
Corythosaurus casuarius is one of the few lambeosaurinids, along with Lambeosaurus lambei , Hypacrosaurus stebingeri and H. altispinus that present assigned fossilized juveniles. Juveniles are more difficult to assign to species, because at a young age they lack the larger, distinctive crests of adults. As they age, lambeosaurines' crests tend to grow longer and become more prominent in maturity. In the Dinosaur Park Formation, more than fifty articulated specimens have been found, from many different genera. Among them, juveniles are difficult to identify to the species level. Previously, four genera and thirteen species were recognized from the formation area, when paleontologists used differences in size and crest shape to differentiate taxa. The smaller specimens were identified as Tetragonosaurus , now seen as a synonym of Procheneosaurus , and the larger skeletons were called Corythosaurus or Lambeosaurus , one adult was identified as Parasaurolophus . The small lambeosaurines from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation were derived to Cheneosaurus.
Skull growth of Parasaurolophus sp., Corythosaurus casuarius and Casuarius sp. The stars represent the age at which crest development starts
Corythosaurus began to develop its crest when it was half the adult size, but juvenile Parasaurolophus began to develop crests when they were only 25% the size of adults. Juvenile Corythosaurus , along with adults, had a nasal premaxillary fontanelle . Juvenile and adult Corythosaurus are similar to Lambeosaurus and Hypacrosaurus but different from Parasaurolophus in that the skull sutures are sinuous, rather than smooth and straight. This characteristic helps differentiate parasaurolofinids from lambeosaurinids. Generally, the crests of juvenile lambeosaurinids such as Corythosaurus , Lambeosaurus , and Hypacrosaurus stebingeri , parasaurolophinids such as Parasaurolophus , and primitive lambeosaurids such as Kazaklambia are quite similar, although other features can be used to distinguish them.
Dodson's 1975 work recognized that there were far fewer taxa present in Alberta. Tetragonosaurus turned out to be juveniles of Corythosaurus or Lambeosaurus . T. erectofrons was assigned to Corythosaurus based largely on biometric information. The only non-typical specimen of Tetragonosaurus , assigned to T. erectofrons , was later found referable to Hypacrosaurus , although the holotype of the species was found to be assignable to Corythosaurus.
Diet[]
Corythosaurus was an ornithopod, and therefore a herbivore. Benson et al. In 2012 they noticed that Corythosaurus's beak was shallow and delicate, and concluded that it must have been used to feed on soft vegetation. Based on the Late Cretaceous climate, they hypothesized that Corythosaurus would have been a selective browser, eating only the juiciest fruits and youngest leaves. Samples of Corythosaurus that have been preserved with its last meal in its thoracic cavity. Inside the cavity were remains of conifer needles, seeds, twigs and fruits, meaning that Corythosaurus likely fed on all of these.
Paleoecology[]
Skeleton from Dinosaur Provincial Park
Fossils have been found in the upper Oldman Formation and the Dinosaur Park Formation of Canada. The Oldman Formation dates to the Campanian, about 77.5 to 76.5 million years ago, and the Dinosaur Park Formation dates to 76.6 to 74.8 million years ago. Corythosaurus lived between 77 to 75.7 million years ago. years ago. In the Dinosaur Park formation, C. casuarius lived between 76.6 and 75.9 million years ago, with C. intermedius living from 75.8 to 75.7 million years ago. In the Oldman Formation C. casuarius , the only species of Corythosaurus from the deposits, lived around 77 to 76.5 million years ago. The holotype specimen was clearly a corpse that had washed up on a beach, since the shells of the genus Unio, water-worn bones, and a baenid turtle were preserved around. Corythosaurus probably lived in a forest forest, and may occasionally wander through swampy areas.
Herbivores of the Oldman Formation, Corythosaurus in the background
A limited fauna is known from the upper section of the Oldman Formation, and Corythosaurus casuarius and C. intermedius are among the taxa. Also from the section of the formation are the theropods Daspletosaurus and Saurornitholestes , the hadrosaurids Brachylophosaurus , Gryposaurus and Parasaurolophus , the ankylosaurids Scolosaurus and the ceratopsids Coronosaurus and Chasmosaurus . Other genera are known in the formation, but they do not persist in the upper section of the formation, and are therefore not contemporaneous with Corythosaurus.
Corythosaurus casuarius is widespread throughout the lower unit of the Dinosaur Park Formation. In it, Corythosaurus was found to be closely related to the ceratosid Centrosaurus apertus . Their association was found in the Dinosaur Park, Judith River, and Mesaverde formations, and also in the Wind River Shoal and Wheatland County. Corythosaurus lived alongside many other giant herbivores, such as the hadrosaurids Gryposaurus and Parasaurolophus, the ceratopsids Centrosaurus and Chasmosaurus , and ankylosaurians Scolosaurus , Edmontonia and Dyoplosaurus in the earliest stages of formation , Dyoplosaurus , Panoplosaurus and Euoplocephalus in the Middle Ages , and Euoplocephalus only in later stages of formation . Studies of the jaw anatomy and mechanics of these dinosaurs suggest that they probably all occupied slightly different ecological niches in order to avoid direct competition for food in such a crowded ecological space. The only known large predators of them Formation levels such as Corythosaurus are the tyrannosaurids Gorgosaurus libratus and an unnamed species of Daspletosaurus.
Thomas M. Lehman has noted that Corythosaurus has not been discovered outside of southern Alberta even though it is one of the most abundant Juditian dinosaurs in the region. Large herbivores such as hadrosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous had "remarkably small geographic ranges" despite their large body size and high mobility. This restricted distribution contrasts sharply with modern mammalian faunas whose large herbivorous ranges "typically...span much of a continent."
JPInstitute.com Description[]
Corythosaurus is a member of the plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur family that is sometimes referred to as hadrosaurs. It had a toothless, wide beak and hundreds of teeth in the back part of its mouth that it used for grinding tough plants to mush. Like other duckbills, it was a herd-animal that traveled in large groups. Fossils of this dinosaur are sometimes found together with other plant-eating dinosaurs, which leads scientists to believe that different types of plant-eaters grouped together to feed, drink and maybe even migrate (moving from one area to another).
Corythosaurus gets its name from the bony crest on top of its head because it brings to mind the helmets worn by ancient Corinthian warriors. The crest grew until adulthood and was likely used as a mating ritual ornament. There appears to be gender differentiation regarding the size of the crest, with males having a larger crest. At least 10 skulls have been identified from this species, giving scientists a good look at individual and gender differentiation. Fossilized skin remains have also been found, further contributing to the knowledge of Corythosaurus.
Dinosaur Field Guide Description[]
Corythosaurus ("Corinthian helmet lizard") is one of the crested duck-bill dinosaurs. At one time, over six species were named based on slight differences in the crest on the skull. But in 1975, paleontologist Peter Dodson showed that these changes are due to sexual dimorphism and growth allome-try. In other words, they were all the same species, and the differences in the skulls and crests were normal among a large population of juveniles and adults of both sexes. The famous crest of Corythosaurus is formed from the upper lip bone and the nasal bone. These two bones have grown back and up over the skull, taking the nasal passage with them. The result is a folded nasal passage comparable to a woodwind instrument, such as a clarinet. Each species of crested duckbill dinosaur would have made its own unique sound, like different instruments in an orchestra. The crest also housed the enlarged olfactory lobes of the brain, increasing the duckbill's sense of smell. In some species, the olfactory lobes are actually bent toward the hollow crest in order to be closer to the nasal chambers!
Fun Facts[]
This was the first dinosaur found with an almost complete skin!
Trivia[]
The most beautiful and complete Corythosaurus skeleton is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Gallery[]
Fact Card[]
Appearance in other media[]
Jurassic Park[]
- Corythosaurus appeared in The Lost World: Jurassic Parkon a sheet which is shown too be a early prototype Corythosaurus clone by InGen. Corythosaurus also appeared in Jurassic Park III the clone's had a greyish body yellow patches and orange red crests. In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it is known that Corythosaurus was subject to cruelty at some point in the past, although it is unknown if there are any surviving populations left, it is possible that Corythosaurus was saved offscreen.
- Corythosaurus appears in Lego Jurassic World as an unlockable character.
- Corythosaurus appears in Jurassic World: Evolution 1 & 2.
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Read more Corythosaurus on Jurassic Park Wiki |
The Land Before Time[]
- Corythosaurus appears in The Land Before Time franchise.
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Read more Corythosaurus on Land Before Time Wiki |
Links[]
References[]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corythosaurus Horner J.R; Weishampel D.B. & Forster C.A. 2004. "Hadrosauridae". In Weishampel, David B; Dodson, Peter & Osmólska, Halszka (eds) The Dinosauria (2nd ed). Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 438–463. ISBN 0-520-24209-2