Charonosaurus

Charonosaurus was an enormous duck-billed dinosaur that inhabited northeastern China during the late Maastrichtian stage, around 70 to 66 million years ago. Named after Charon, the mythical ferryman of the underworld, its fossils were discovered along the banks of the Amur River. Reaching an estimated length of ten to twelve metres, it was one of the largest known lambeosaurines. Although its complete skull is unknown, the preserved cranial bones closely match those of Parasaurolophus, indicating it possessed a long, tubular crest curving backwards from the skull roof. It possessed robust limbs that permitted quadrupedal walking as well as bipedal movement. Charonosaurus used extensive grinding tooth batteries to chew abrasive Cretaceous vegetation alongside contemporaries such as sauropods and theropods.

It was an Asian close relative of Parasaurolophus and survived until the very end of the Cretaceous.

Where and when

Charonosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 70 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from China, in the Yuliangze Formation.

The numbers

Length 11 m (estimates run from 10 to 12 m). Mass about 4.9 t. Hip height about 3.5 m. That is 6.5 human-lengths, or 0.98 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Charonosaurus with a bus Place on the timeline