NCSU, JULIUS T. CSOTONYIA new hadrosaur discovered in central Utah has been named Rhinorex condrupus—king of noses—for its most distinctive feature. The 75-million-year-old specimen is the first hadrosaur, a group of duck-billed herbivores, to be found in this region, according to results published last week (September 17) in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
“The purpose of such a big nose is still a mystery,” study coauthor Terry Gates of North Carolina State University said in a press release. If Rhinorex was like other known hadrosaurs, “it likely did not have a super sense of smell; but maybe the nose was used as a means of attracting mates, recognizing members of its species, or even as a large attachment for a plant-smashing beak.”
The specimen was first excavated by in 1992 by geology students working in the region, reported National Geographic’s Laelaps. Initially studied for its well-preserved, pebbly skin impressions, Gates and his colleague, Rodney Scheetz of the Brigham Young University Museum of Paleontology, recognized this hadrosaur as a new species when they reconstructed its skull. They estimated the ...
