A newly-discovered exceptionally well-preserved skull of the duckbill dinosaur Parasaurolophus solves mysteries of its signature crest and family tree.
Parasaurolophus is instantly recognizable due to the giant crest that starts at its nose and arches back over the top of its head. But recovered specimens haven’t had skulls that preserved the iconic crest very well—until now.
The skull, recovered from the badlands of New Mexico, answers questions concerning the overall structure and function of the crest and establishes relationships between this species and other North American Parasaurolophus species.
Research on the find appears in PeerJ. Here, Terry Gates, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University, discusses the find and what it shows about the creature’s family tree:
The post Duckbill dino’s skull solves colorful crest mystery appeared first on Futurity.
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