Sunday, December 06, 2015

The Giving of December. Latirhinus

 Latirhinus should not be confused with Altirhinus,‭ ‬as not only do they have similar sounding names‭ (‬only difference being the position of the‭ ’‬l‭’ ‬and‭ ’‬a‭’ ‬at the start‭)‬,‭ ‬both were hadrosaurs and both were named after the enlarged bony protuberances on their snouts.‭ ‬Latirhinus was a form of saurolophine hadrosaur,‭ ‬a type noted for not having a hollow bony head crest.‭ ‬However discoveries‭ ‬of Edmontosaurus indicate‭ ‬that a fleshy head crest might have been present,‭ ‬though such‭ ‬a feature is unknown for certain for Latirhinus.‭
       The holotype fossils of Latirhinus were recovered from Mexico which in the late cretaceous would have been the southern most portion of Laramidia,‭ ‬a landmass that stretched along the western portion of what is now North America.‭ ‬This landmass was mostly separated from the eastern portion of North America by the Western interior seaway.‭ ‬Here Latirhinus alongside other hadrosaurs such as Velafrons and Kritosaurus,‭ ‬as well as ceratopsians such as Coahuilaceratops.

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