Aralosaurus
| Aralosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Ornithischia |
| Family: | Hadrosauridae |
| Subfamily: | Hadrosaurinae |
| Genus: | Aralosaurus |
| Species: | A. tuberiferus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aralosaurus tuberiferus Rozhdestvensky, 1968 |
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Aralosaurus (ar-ahl-o-SORE-us) meaning "Aral Sea lizard", because it was found in the Aral Sea (Greek sauros = lizard) was a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous of what is now Kazakhstan.[1] Aralosaurus was characterized by a small, bony peak on its nose, much like its relatives Maiasaura and Gryposaurus.[1]
Aralosaurus was a herbivore that lived in the late Cretaceous period, around 95 to 80 million years ago, and was capable of both bipedal and quadrupedal movement.[citation needed] Egg clusters show that Aralosaurus lived in herds and had locations for laying eggs where they would be safe.[citation needed] Several relatives, such as Jaxartosaurus have also been found in the surrounding area where Aralosaurus was found.
[edit] Description
Aralosaurus was about the size of an elephant. Although very little is known about Aralosaurus (only one near complete skull has been found)[1]; it was identified by a beak with nearly 1,000 small teeth in 30 rows.[1] These teeth were used for breaking up plant matter by chewing, a feature common in herbivorous dinosaurs, but unusual for reptiles.The back of an Aralosaurus skull was wide, a feature suggestive of large jaw muscles used to power its chewing apparatus.[1]
The nasal peak before the eyes was common to most hadrosaurs. This bump may have also been used as a weapon in duels between males by head butting into one another, much like modern day animals such as rams and goats. It had a thick tail, bulky body and powerful hind legs, all also common with other hadrosaurs.
