Gryposaurus

Dinosaur trackways in the Peace River Canyon were made by Early Cretaceous relatives of this duckbill dinosaur.

Based on the number of their remains, duckbilled dinosaurs must have been very common in Late Cretaceous Alberta. Named for their flattened toothless beaks, duckbills were plentiful and diverse, perhaps moving in large herds across the landscape.

Behind the beak were batteries of hundreds of cheek teeth adapted to chewing tough plant material. The teeth were replaced throughout life. Most hadrosaurs weighed about as much as an elephant, although a few were larger.

Gryposaurus had the typical broad bill of the duckbills, and like Kritosaurus, it had a distinctive hump on its snout. In fact, the two animals are so similar that some researcher think they might be the same animal. Only their tooth structure differs.

Gryposaurus is one of the very few dinosaurs whose skin imprints have been fossilized.

This document was prepared by Wayne Hortensius, Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society. All information © 1995 Royal Tyrrell Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Updated: April 8, 1995

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