STL Science Center

STL Science Center

31 October 2016

Astronaut Hadrosaur

©Lisa Andres
The October dinosaur of the month was Parasaurolophus. This week counts as the last week of the month but we have missed two days, so October's monthly dinosaur will have a somewhat shortened spotlight. That works out just fine considering that we have discussed Parasaurolophus once in the past; check the Facebook page for the week of October 29, 2010. It is an interesting convenience that Parasaurolophus is kind of having a six year anniversary this week. As many dinosaur enthusiasts know, Parasaurolophus is an interesting hadrosaurid dinosaur. The crest of this dinosaur has been used to estimate many things about hadrosaur crests, including its noise making ability and the potential for endothermy via warming turbinates within the nasal passage. Possibly the most recognized of all the hadrosaurs, Parasaurolophus is one of the dinosaurs that most readily and entirely embodies the phrase "charismatic megafauna" and we will see why and how in the next few days, or at the very least be reminded of that in the near future.

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