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Augustynolophus

Say it: aw-GUS-ty-no-LO-fus

Name means: “Augustyn's crest”1

Ate: PlantsDuck-billsLate Cretaceous

Augustynolophus was a duck-billed dinosaur that lived right at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It had a solid, bony crest on its head shaped like a triangle. This plant-eater is one of the last non-bird dinosaurs known before the big extinction.1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Moreno Formation, California, USA1 5

Food

Plants1 5

Length

8 m1

Weight

3 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 2 cars

as long as 8 dogs nose to tailas long as 44 bananas end to endas heavy as 100 big dogsas heavy as 600 watermelons

How big was Augustynolophus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Augustynolophus is the official state dinosaur of California, chosen in 2017.1

Only two specimens of Augustynolophus have been found, both in California. One might be a juvenile because it is smaller.1

Its solid nasal crest was a long triangular plate that stuck up above its skull. The crest had a knob at the tip that curved forward.2

Augustynolophus lived about 70 to 66 million years ago, during the very end of the Cretaceous Period.1

It shared its home with many marine animals like mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and sea turtles, because California was mostly underwater at that time.1

This dinosaur was originally named Saurolophus morrisi in 2013, but scientists later gave it its own genus because its skull was very different from other saurolophins.1 2

AI-made picture of Augustynolophus — An AI-made picture of how Augustynolophus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Augustynolophus

?How big was Augustynolophus?

Augustynolophus was about 8 metres (26 feet) long and weighed around 3 metric tons (3.3 short tons).3

?What did Augustynolophus eat?

Augustynolophus was a plant-eater. It had a duck-shaped bill and could chew its food, which was special for a dinosaur.3

?When did Augustynolophus live?

Augustynolophus lived about 70 to 66 million years ago, right at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs.3

?Where was Augustynolophus found?

Both known fossils of Augustynolophus were found in California, one in Fresno County and one in San Benito County.4

?Why did Augustynolophus have a crest?

Augustynolophus had a solid triangular crest on its head made of bone. Scientists think it was used for display, but they are not completely sure.2

?Is Augustynolophus a dinosaur?

Yes, Augustynolophus is a dinosaur. It is a duck-billed hadrosaur from the group Ornithischia.3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Augustynolophus
Named by: Prieto-Márquez et al. 20155
Group: Duck-bills
Family / clade: Hadrosauridae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia > Hadrosauridae5
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)5
Rock formations: Moreno5
Countries: USA5
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: The first specimen was dug up in 1943 in California. It was named Saurolophus morrisi in 2013, and then renamed Augustynolophus morrisi in 2014 by a team including Albert Prieto-Márquez.1 5
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how the solid crest on its head was used, whether for display, recognition, or something else.2

Where the facts come from

Augustynolophus (en.wikipedia.org)
The late-surviving ‘duck-billed’ dinosaur Augustynolophus from the upper Maastrichtian of western North America and crest evolution in Saurolophini | Geological Magazine | Cambridge Core (cambridge.org)
Augustynolophus (en.m.wikipedia.org)
Dinosaur - Augustynolophus Morrisi - California State Capitol ... (capitolmuseum.ca.gov)
Augustynolophus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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