Hadrosaur skeleton, Parasaurolophus walkeri

Hadrosaur skeleton, Parasaurolophus walkeri, collected 1920
Common Name: Hadrosaur
Scientific Name: Parasaurolophus walkeri
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Family: Hadrosauridae
Image Number: ROM2007_9608_45

Unquestionably the ROM’s most famous dinosaur, this skeleton is the worlds best preserved specimen of Parasaurolophus, a large-crested, duck-billed hadrosaur.

Parasaurolophus is characterized by its spectacular tubular crest that extends over a metre beyond the top of its skull. The hollow crests may have been used as resonating chambers for calling to one another. Differences in the size and shape of crests probably aided the duck-billed dinosaurs, or hadrosaurs, to recognize their own species.