Prosaurolophus
“Before The Saurolophus”
Prosaurolophus (Greek - before saurolophus), was a terrestrial dinosaur genus of hadrosaurids (known as duck-billed dinosaurs because of the similarity of their head to that of modern ducks). Prosaurolophus occurred in the Late Cretaceous. It is most distinguished by its long, broad skull and a small crest near the eyes. This crest rose like spikes over both eyes and was directed backwards. Prosaurolophus is the earliest known flat-crested hadrosaur.
Whether Prosaurolophus really was an ancestor of Saurolophus was,
is controversial among scientists.
| Profile | Prosaurolophus |
|---|---|
| epoch | Middle to Upper Campanian (Late Cretaceous) |
| Order | bird-hipped dinosaurs |
| Subordination | Ornithopoda |
| Family | Iguanodontia |
| group | Hadrosauridae |
| genus | Prosaurolophus |
| Art | Prosaurolophus maximus, Prosaurolophus blackfeetensis |
| Height | 4.3 meters |
| length | 8 – 9 meters |
| Weight | 4.5 tons |
| Locations | North America, Canada |
Image sources: I, Steveoc 86, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Size comparison: Slate Weasel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Skull: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Skeleton: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons