Parasaurolophus

Name & Basics
Genus: Parasaurolophus

Name Means: Near Crested Lizard

Lived During: Cretaceous Period This dinosaur will come up in the middle third of the World of Dinosaurs Fall 2020 course. See the syllabus for more.

Anatomy

 * The crest on it's head is an extension of it's nasals. This means it has lots of void space and air could be actively circulated through it
 * Check out the pictures and models here: 10.7717/peerj.182/fig-9
 * To download models of the skull, nasals and brain head here: https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Surface_models_for_left_half_of_skull_of_Parasaurolophus_sp_Hadrosauridae_Dinosauria_/692151
 * The teeth and face of these animals are uniquely suited for processing plant matter with densely pack teeth set in a semi-mobile jaw to allow for a sort of slicing action.
 * Check out the motion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sr5is7-wdk&ab_channel=hallam25

Phylogeny
Here's a hierarchical view. Click the links for more info, including cladograms.

Dinosauria


 * Ornithischia
 * Ornithopoda
 * Hadrosauridae

Biomechanics

 * ParasauralophusSkullNHMU.jpeg is that crazy crest for?
 * Check out the animation of chewing (see above)!