Charonosaurus Pronunciation

Fun Facts

• ✓Charonosaurus had a crest so similar to North America's Parasaurolophus that scientists believe both dinosaurs may have crossed between Asia and North America via a land bridge that existed during the Late Cretaceous, making Charonosaurus a cross-continental cousin.
• ✓The Amur River where Charonosaurus fossils were found forms the natural border between China and Russia today, meaning this dinosaur literally rests beneath an international boundary, a fitting home for a creature named after the guardian of borders between the living and the dead.
• ✓Charonosaurus was described scientifically in the year 2000 by Belgian paleontologist Pascal Godefroit alongside Chinese colleagues, making it one of the first major Chinese hadrosaurs formally named in the 21st century.
• ✓The hollow crest of Charonosaurus, like that of Parasaurolophus, may have worked like a musical instrument, allowing the dinosaur to produce deep resonant honking calls that could travel long distances through dense Cretaceous forests.
• ✓Charonosaurus lived right at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, approximately 66 million years ago, meaning it was one of the last large dinosaurs alive on Earth before the mass extinction event wiped out non-avian dinosaurs.