“The Trumpet of the Cretaceous Lowlands”
Binomial Parasaurolophus walkeri · pair-uh-sore-OL-oh-fus
Late Cretaceous - 76-73 Ma
IllustrationParasaurolophus fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 18 source-backed records currently shown. Western North America, including selected records from Kirtland, Fruitland, Dinosaur Park, and related Late Cretaceous units. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include Kirtland Sh, Kirtland Formation, Fruitland Formation. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Parasaurolophus was a crested hadrosaur from Late Cretaceous North America. Fossil Atlas maps selected records from formations including Kirtland, Fruitland, and Dinosaur Park while keeping the caveat that pins show modern discovery locations.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured9.5 m · 31 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured4 m (13 ft)
Body mass
estimate2,500 kg · 5,500 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate40 km/h · 25 mph
Modelled, debated
Parasaurolophus is one of the most recognisable hadrosaurs because of its long tubular crest curving back from the skull. The crest contained nasal passages that looped through its interior, and its hollow structure has led most researchers to interpret it as a resonating chamber for producing calls audible over long distances. CT scanning confirmed the internal complexity needed for sound production.
The crest
A long, curved, hollow crest extending back from the skull. Length varied between individuals, likely reflecting sex and age. Computer modelling of the internal structure produces low-frequency sounds in the range used by large animals communicating at distance.
Sound
The calls produced by the crest would have carried well through forested lowlands. Whether this was the primary function or a secondary benefit of a structure used mainly for visual display is still sometimes discussed.
Locomotion
Could walk on two legs or four depending on speed and activity. Quadrupedal walking was probably the default; bipedal movement when fleeing.
Feeding
Dense dental batteries for grinding plant material, a toothless beak for cropping. Like other hadrosaurs, it could process a wide range of vegetation including tougher material.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
76-73 million years ago
Parasaurolophus is famous for its long hollow crest, often interpreted as part of a sound-producing system.
Its records help Fossil Atlas build a richer mid-to-late Cretaceous North America cluster.
The crest makes it one of the most visually recognizable hadrosaurs.
William Parks described Parasaurolophus from a skull and partial skeleton collected from Alberta in 1921, and named it in 1922. The crest function debate ran through most of the twentieth century, with proposals ranging from a snorkel to a temperature regulator to a resonating chamber. CT scanning in the 1990s and computer modelling in 2008 effectively settled the debate in favour of sound production, though exactly how central that was to the crest's original function is occasionally revisited.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Parasaurolophus.
Gorgosaurus
The main predator of the Dinosaur Park Formation and the primary threat to hadrosaur herds.
Corythosaurus
A helmet-crested hadrosaur from the same deposits, with a different crest shape and probably a different visual identity.
Centrosaurus
The dominant horned dinosaur of the Dinosaur Park Formation, sharing the same coastal plain environment.
Other members of Hadrosauridae.
Corythosaurus
The closest equivalent hadrosaur in the same formation, with a plate-shaped rather than tubular crest.
Edmontosaurus
A later, crest-less hadrosaur from the Hell Creek Formation.
Lambeosaurus
A Canadian hadrosaur with a forward-pointing crest, known from the Dinosaur Park Formation alongside Parasaurolophus.
Pins show selected fossil records for Parasaurolophus; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
These are sourced specimen assets, separate from reconstruction artwork. Only media with clear open or reusable rights is displayed by default.
USNM PAL 214580_1
Michael Brett-Surman
Parasaurolophus is represented here by selected fossil records from western north america, including selected records from kirtland, fruitland, dinosaur park, and related late cretaceous units. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include Kirtland Sh. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Parasaurolophus map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
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