Parasaurolophus is a mouthful, even for Elmo, but today’s random object brought that duck-billed dinosaur front and center.
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Parasaurolophus belonged to the hadrosaur family, which had already spread across the globe by the Jurassic, but this one shows up late in the Cretaceous and only in North America. Fossils have turned up in Alberta, Utah, and New Mexico, but they are rare with just eleven or twelve decent specimens. That is enough to confirm the famous head crest was not a fluke, though not enough to prove lifestyle details like whether or not they traveled in herds.
The crest was the subject of decades of debate. Early paleontologists guessed it was a snorkel for diving or even an air tank for holding breath underwater. Nerds, as always, suggested it was for showing off to mates. Later computer modeling showed that air moving through the crest resonated like a trombone, producing long, low calls. Studies of the ear canals revealed that Parasaurolophus was tuned to hear low frequencies, much like elephants, which supports the idea that it was a communication device.
At full size, Parasaurolophus stretched about 31 feet, which comes out to roughly 53 bananas. Standing height was about 16 feet, or 22 hedgehogs stacked, though the hedgehogs would not like that arrangement. It grazed on soft, marshy plants, with teeth designed for grinding vegetation. Its skin was scaly, like an iguana or Komodo dragon, with no sign of feathers. Structurally it could move on both two and four legs, a bit like a kangaroo switching between grazing and running.
Parasaurolophus was discovered in the 1920s, too late to appear in early dinosaur films like The Lost World or Journey to the Center of the Earth. It has made up for it since, becoming a favorite in children’s media. Ducky in The Land Before Time is a Parasaurolophus, and the dinosaur shows up in Jurassic Park and Disney’s Dinosaur. It is a fan favorite not just because of its look but also because saying “Parasaurolophus” makes kids feel like they really know their dinosaurs.
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