Movies - Corythosaurus

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Corythosaurus

	Movies - Corythosaurus

Corythosaurus (ko-RITH-oh-sawr-us) meaning "helmet lizard" because of the shape of its crest (Greek korythos = helmet + sauros = lizard) was a duck-billed dinosaur genus from the Upper Cretaceous period, about 80 million years ago. It lived in North America.

Discoveries

The first specimen was discovered in 1912 by Barnum Brown in Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada . As well as an almost complete skeleton, the find was remarkable because much of the creature's fossilised skin had also survived. In 1916, the Canadian (Canadian Pacific Lines) ship Mount Temple was carrying two specimens and other fossils from today's Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada to Britain. It was sunk by the German surface raider SMS Moewe, sending its 75 million year old cargo to the bottom of the North Atlantic, where it rests to this day. For more details visit: www.ssmounttemple.com

Characteristics

A herbivorous dinosaur, it lived in herds and fed on low-growing plants and fruits. The beak contained no teeth, but the jaw was lined with hundreds of small, sharp teeth that were constantly replaced as they wore down and fell out.

The head crest was filled with nasal passages and probably served as a sounding device. Corythosaurus weighed in at 4 tonnes and measured 10 metres from nose to tail.

It was once thought that this dinosaur lived mostly in the water, due to the appearance of webbed hands and feet. However, it was later discovered that the so-called "webs" were in fact deflated padding, much like that found on many modern mammals.

Over 20 skulls have been found from this dinosaur, which makes it the most known of all USA’s duck-beaked dinosaurs. Tall, hollow bone-crests are some of the characteristics of the Lambeosaurids, which this large dinosaur belonged to. It is confusing, that not all Corythosaurs had the same type of crest on their heads. The size and shape depended on the gender and age. Before that was discovered, up to seven different species were found. Now only one of them has been approved.

Living

The Corythosaurus lived between North America's western mountains and a prehistoric inland sea. In herds, they have wandered through the forests eating low-growing plants. During their walks, they sometimes met other Hadrosaurids. Some of the Corythosaurus-bones were found next to several other fossils of Gryposaurs, Prosaurolophus’, Lambeosaurs and the Parasaurolophus. If the herds got mixed up, their crest and an acute olfactory sense would have been a great help to return to their own group. The combs must also have been used to attract females; it might even have changed color. Just like the other Hadrosaurids, they could use the comb as a "trumpet" to communicate.

Category:North American dinosaursCategory:Cretaceous dinosaursCategory:Hadrosaurs

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Corythosaurus ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Corythosaurus; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Movies - Corythosaurus

Discoveries

Characteristics

Living

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay