Augustynolophus is an extinct genus of herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaur dinosaur which was discovered in the Moreno Formation in California, dating to the late Maastrichtian age, making it one of the last dinosaurs known from the fossil record before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
History of discovery[]
The generic name derives from a combination of the Augustyn family, who helped support the Los Angeles County Museum, and the suffix "-lophus," referring to its relation to Saurolophus. The specific name refers to palaeontologist William Morris.It was originally described as a species of Saurolophus, S. morrisi. However, when a more in-depth study took place, the end results revealed that its cranial structure was vastly different when it was juxtaposed with the other known members of the tribe Saurolophini, most notably Saurolophus osborni and Saurolophus angustirostris and Prosaurolophus maximus and therefore, it was determined to be a separate genus.
All known specimens of Augustynolophus have been found only in California, which was a part of Laramidia, among the best locations for dinosaur fossils. There are currently two known specimens of Augustynolophus. The holotype, LACM/CIT 2852, was unearthed in 1943. It consisted of the majority of the skull (including the dentary and predentary), vertebrae, and bones of the limb and hand. The second specimen was designated LACM/CIT 2760. Discovered in 1939, it was made up of elements of the skull and limbs. Due to its smaller size, it may have been a juvenile. It is one of three named dinosaurs from the western coast of the United States, the other two being the Campanian Aletopelta coombsi, and the sea bird Ichthyornis. Additionally there are a number of fragmentary remains which have been found of dinosaurs in all of the western coastal states, California, Oregon, and Washington. In addition to a tyrannosaur from Sucia Island of Washington, fragmentary remains of indeterminate hadrosaurs and ornithopods have been found throughout California as far back as the 1930s and more recently Oregon as well.
In September 2017, Augustynolophus was declared the official state dinosaur of California.
Gallery[]
