Prosaurolophus (Greek - before saurolophus), was a terrestrial dinosaur genus of hadrosaurids (known as duck-billed dinosaurs because of the similarity of their heads to those of modern ducks). Prosaurolophus occurred in the late Cretaceous period. It is most distinguished by its long, broad skull and a small crest near the eyes. This crest rose like spines above both eyes and was directed backward. Prosaurolophus is the earliest known flat-topped hadrosaur.
Whether Prosaurolophus was really an ancestor of Saurolophus,
is disputed among scientists.
| Profile | Name |
|---|---|
| Prehistoric Era | Middle to Upper Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) |
| Order | Ornithischia |
| Suborder | Ornithopoda |
| Family | Hadrosauridae |
| Tribe | |
| Genus | Prosaurolophus |
| Species | Prosaurolophus maximus, Prosaurolophus blackfeetensis |
| Height | 4.3 meter |
| Length | 8 - 9 meter |
| Weight | 4.5 tons |
| Territory | Northamerica, Canada |
image source: 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
