Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Family: Hadrosauridae
Subfamily: Lambeosaurinae
Genus: Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus was a large hadrosaurid that lived during the late Cretaceous about 75 million years ago. It is one of the most recognizable ornithopods due to the rear-projecting tubular crest on its head. The structure is filled with air chambers and connects directly to the animal's nasal passages, fueling decades of debate over its true purpose. Scientists have largely settled on the theory that it was used for intraspecies vocalization and identification, as other, earlier ideas, such as it being a 'snorkel', or some sort of weapon, have been mostly discredited. Parasaurolophus was in all other respects an average ornithopod, with bipedal/quadrupedal locomotion and herbivorous adaptations.

Type Species: Parasaurolophus walkeri

Parks, William A. (1922). Parasaurolophus walkeri, a new genus and species of crested trachodont dinosaur. University of Toronto Studies, Geology Series 13, pp. 1–32.

Locality:

Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, Canada.

Scientific Resources:

Evans, DC; Reisz, RR; and Dupuis, K. (2007). A Juvenile Parasaurolophus (Ornithischia: Hadrosauridae) Braincase from Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, with Comments on Crest Ontogeny in the Genus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 27, Issue 3, pp. 642-650.

Evans, DC. (2006). Nasal cavity homologies and cranial crest function in lambeosaurine dinosaurs. Paleobiology, Vol. 32, Issue 1, pp. 109-125.

Weishampel, DB. (1981). Acoustic Analyses of Potential Vocalization in Lambeosaurine Dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia). Paleobiology, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 252-261.

Weishampel, DB; and Jensen, JA. (1979). Parasaurolophus (Reptilia: Hadrosauridae) from Utah. Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 1422-1427.