Name:
Charonosaurus (Greek for "Charon lizard"); pronounced cah-ROAN-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 40 feet long and 6 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Large size; long, narrow crest on head
About Charonosaurus:
One of the odd things about the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period is that many genuses seem to have duplicated themselves between North America and Asia. Charonosaurus is a good example; this duck-billed Asian hadrosaur was essentially identical to its more famous North American cousin, Parasaurolophus, except that it was slightly bigger. Charonosaurus also had a longer crest on its head, which means it probably blasted mating and warning calls across farther distances than Parasaurolophus ever could.
By the way, the name Charonosaurus derives from Charon, the boatman of Greek myth who ferried the souls of the recently dead across the river Styx. Since Charonosaurus must have been a gentle herbivore, though, this doesn’t seem very fair!
