Parasaurolophus walkeri also commonly known as the near crested lizard was a dinosaur that belonged to the late Jurassic or more promptly the late cretaceous period.
Based on the history and researches conducted on its fossils, it has been concluded that they lived around 73 million years ago.
The genus of Parasaurolophus’ was described by William Parks in the year 1922. It was William Parks who gave the dinosaur its name walkeri as an honor for Edmund Walker.
The Parasaurolophus has a crest on its head which marked its special feature. Along with that, the Parasaurolophus is known for its feet mainly because it can switch between bipedal and quadrupedal features whenever needed.
This means the dinosaur was known to use its four feet while foraging but switching to the hindlimbs while running.
This could also be because of the tons of weight that made the dinosaur heavy and the hind legs being strong helped them cover a larger distance easily.
The Parasaurolophus were strong swimmers and usually used their swimming ability to escape from the threats on land.
The fossil based skeleton information about the Parasaurolophus is incomplete. Although it is known that this dinosaur had a long curved crest on its head which marked its distinction from the other dinosaurs.
This hollow cranial crest connected the nasal pipe back into the skull – through and through. Apart from the crests, these animals are known for their strong upper arms, legs, and pelvis.
These animals ideally had four feet. They used all four feet while foraging whereas used the hind legs while running. This was mainly because the forelimbs were shorter in length than the hindlimb.
At the back this creature had a tall and narrow tail which complimented the other end of the body with a narrow beak.
They used this beak to chew off plant matter and mince it with the small teeth. They had interestingteeth as when Parasaurolophus teeth eroded, a new set of teeth grew back again in a limited time span.
Parasaurolophus fossil and specimens suggest that these were one of the largest living hadrosaurs in history with a length of up to 480 in (1219.2 cm) and a height range of up to 108 in (274.3 cm).
Their body was four times the length of Microhadrosaurus.
Parasaurolophus breed of dinosaur was herbivore in its natural form. Hence, they preferred to locate themselves in areas with good amount of vegetation.
These creatures had many fine teeth that they used to mince the plants and all the associated plant material.
It is assumed that these animals loved to seek natural habitats with enough vegetation due to their herbivorous diet.
Even though researchers were able to develop these assumptions, the acceptable habitat range required by this species with tons of weight is unknown.
The climate they specifically preferred living in is not known.
Like the other dinosaur species, the Parasaurolophuslso is considered an egg-laying creature, although the complete information about its reproductive process is unknown.
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Ref: thoughtco, kidadl, wikipedia, easyscienceforkids, novataxaPic: wikipedia, pinterest, i.redd.it, easyscienceforkids, novataxa, sci-news, dinosaurjoe
