I Know Dino Podcast: Corythosaurus

[ad_1]

Episode 31 is all about Corythosaurus, a “duck-billed” hadrosaur.

You’ll be able to hearken to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on iTunes at:

On this episode, we focus on:

The dinosaur of the day: Corythosaurus, a hadrosaur (“duck-billed”) dinosaur that lived within the Cretaceous, in North America
Fossils present in Canada (southern Alberta)

However it appears no bones discovered outdoors southern Alberta, so might have solely lived in a single small space
Identify means “helmet lizard”

Corythosaurus has an estimated size of 9 metres (30 ft), and has a cranium, together with the crest, that’s 70.8 centimetres (27.9 in) tall
Might have weighed as much as 5 tons

Barnum Brown described Corythosaurus in 1914
Brown discovered the holotype specimen in 1911 (although there are a lot of full specimens); holotype is lacking final a part of tail and a part of forelimbs, however has impressions of scales
30 ft (9 m) lengthy, with a cranium (together with crest) that’s about 28 in (71 cm) tall

Holotype specimen is now within the American Museum of Pure Historical past, together with a second specimen Brown and Peter Kaisen present in 1914. They’re “of their authentic demise poses”

Brown described the second specimen in 1916 (extra detailed description of Corythosaurus)

Charles H. Sternberg discovered 2 effectively preserved specimens in 1912, however they had been misplaced in 1916 as they had been being shipped to paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward the UK, throughout WWI (ship was sunk by German service provider raider)
Holotype specimen sides and tail had scales

Use to be 7 completely different Corythosaurus species (C. casuarius, C. bicristatus, C. brevicristatus, C. excavatus, C. frontalis, C. intermedius
Greater than 20 Corythossaurus skulls have been discovered
In 1975 Peter Dodson studied the species and located that the completely different configurations and dimensions might have been as a result of gender and age, so now just one species is acknowledged. Nevertheless, some research say C. intermedius is its personal species as a result of it lived barely later than C. casuarius, and it barely completely different

Brown initially categorised Corythosaurus as a part of the household Trachodontidae (now Hadrosauridae), however then he discovered it was possbily an ancestor to Hypacrosaurus (very related aside from improvement of vertebrae and limb proportions),. Now Corythosaurus is a part of the household Lambeosaurinae (most of which have related skulls and crests)
Holotype specimen was a carcass that floated up on a seashore (shells, water-worn bones and baenid turtle preserved close to it

Scientists used to assume Corythosaurus lived in water (appeared to have webbed arms and ft), however the webs had been really deflated padding, seen on fashionable mammals; concept was that they may swim in deep water and use the crest to retailer air

Corythosaurus most likely lived in woodland forest, might have visited swampy areas

Most likely bipedal, with brief arms and lengthy tail (may stroll on all fours, probably to eat low-lying vegetation
Most likely choosy about what it ate (juicy fruits and younger leaves)

One Corythosaurus has been preserved with its final meal in its chest cavity. Discovered stays of conifer needles, seeds, twigs, and fruits (debate over what it really ate)

Most likely was cathemeral, nice sense of listening to
Cathemeral based mostly on sclerotic rings (bony circles), that are in lots of reptiles, birds and dinosaurs (most likely assist with pupil)
Being cathemeral, might have eaten small quantities of meals at a time to digest shortly, additionally simpler to dwell alongside different herbivores that had been diurnal or nocturnal

Herding animal, might have gone to larger floor to breed
Predators might have been Albertosaurus or Tyrannosaurus, or Troodon (particularly to juveniles)

Might have referred to as out warnings or to draw mates or to let others learn about meals
Males had bigger crests than females
Dimension and form of crest various based mostly on gender and age

Scientists assume it made loud, low pitch sounds “like a wind or brass instrument” (trombone)
Began rising its crests when it reached half the dimensions of adults

Ohio College did a CT scan in 2008 that discovered Corythosaurus had a “delicate internal ear” and will “hear low-frequency” sounds

Scott Individuals from the College of Alberta discovered that Corythosaurus had smaller strides than tyrannosaurids, however that they had extra endurance so for lengthy pursuits they lasted longer
Matt Davis from Yale College urged there are such a lot of fossilized impressions/pores and skin samples of hadrosaurs as a result of that they had more durable textures in comparison with different dinosaurs

He reviewed experiences about dinosaur pores and skin from 1841 and located that in 180 experiences, 46 % of the fossils with pores and skin had been hadrosaurs
Additionally checked out information from 343 dinosaurs from the Hell Creek Formation, 20 of the 22 dinosaurs with pores and skin fossils had been hadrosaurs (91 %)
Hadrosauridae (duck billed dinosaurs) is a household of widespread herbivores from the Cretaceous whose fossils have been present in Asia, Europe, and North America

Descendants of iguanodontian dinosaurs and had an analogous physique format
Hadrosauids had been the primary dinosaur household recognized in North America (1855-56 discovered fossil tooth); Joseph Leidy studied the tooth and named the genera Trachodon and Thespesius, although Trachodon had ceratopsids too and is not thought-about a sound genus

In 1858, related these tooth with Hadrosaurus foulkii (named after William Parker Foulke)

One almost full specimen present in 1999 within the Hell Creek Formation (nicknamed “Dakota”), scientists had been capable of calculate its muscle mass. Had fossilized pores and skin, ligaments, tendons and a few inner organs
Two subfamilies: lambeosaurins (hole crests) and saurolophines with stable crests (pre-2010 most hardosaurines categorised as saurolophines)

Had a number of tooth behind the mouth to chew up meals (made this group very profitable, in comparison with sauropods within the Cretaceous)
Mark Purnell present in 2009 that hadrosaurs had a hinge between its higher haws and cranium, and the higher jaw pushed outwards and sideways when chewing whereas the decrease jaw slid in opposition to the higher tooth
Vincent Williams, Paul Barrett and Mark Purnell present in 2009 that hadrosaurids most likely ate horsetails and low mendacity vegetation (based mostly on the way it chews), as a substitute of twigs or stems

However this contradicts the discovering of the hadrosaur with abdomen contents, so it’s up for debate
Coprolites discovered some hadrosaurs ate rotting wooden (had fungi and detritus-eating invertebrates)

Enjoyable truth: Dinosaurs might have been brightly coloured (even crimson or pink)

[ad_2]