Parasaurolophus was a very unique looking dinosaur. It had a
very prominent crest atop its head that was almost six feet in length.
This hollow tube was probably used to make sounds that may have
allowed it to call to others in its herd. It was one of the largest
plant-eaters of the Cretaceous Period.
Parasaurolophus would have walked primarily on all four
legs, but it could have stood on its hind legs to feed or defend
itself and used its long tail for balance. It had a fairly long neck
that would have allowed it to find food on the ground or in trees. It
was a member of family of dinosaurs we refer to as duckbills, meaning
it had a hard beak in the front of its mouth and hundreds of teeth in
the back for chewing tough plant material. These types of plant-eaters
were most likely easy prey for the large predators of this time, so it
probably found safety in numbers.
The long tube that makes up the crest is connected to the nostrils
and the back of the throat of this dinosaur. It may have been able to
make very loud sounds that could have been heard for miles. |