10-28-2024, 03:52 AM
Columbocristatus imperator(Imperial Columbian crest)
![[Image: 7b623c_e173a9b007084d2ba208a5829803e44d~mv2.png]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7b623c_e173a9b007084d2ba208a5829803e44d~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_640,h_790,fp_0.60_0.61,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/7b623c_e173a9b007084d2ba208a5829803e44d~mv2.png)
Columbocristatus was a huge hadrosaurid from what is now Columbia in the Late Cretaceous about 69-66 mya. Until its discovery, it was just taken for granted Gondwanan hadrosaurs were at most the same size as their more famous and (preservation wise)more numerous Laurasian counterparts. Then this whopper of a hadrosaur was found with partial skeletons of adults and complete juvenile skeletons. At about 15 meters long and 17.5 tonnes, this giant rivaled Shantungosaurus in mass. Why this hadrosaur grew so large is not exactly known although the numerous food is suspected to be a factor.
Columbocristatus is suspected to live in small herds more like White-tailed deer or elephants or possibly even solitary as they have not been found in large numbers. They would have been able to eat from trees, bushes, and ferns from the ground. These giants may have had a symbiotic relationship with small ornithopods and parankylosaurs helping to drop branches on the ground and just hanging out with Columbocristatus would have served the benefit of discouraging predators. These hadrosaurs probably laid eggs in nests that were covered with vegetation although nothing is certain. It is known that younglings would have been the most at risk from predation. Megaraptors such as Maip and carnotaurine abelisaurids like Ceravenator are known to be apex predators of South America in the Late Cretaceous although since Columbocristatus was so large, only weakened individuals would be at risk. The mitre shaped crest is likely to serve as a display structure.
The K-Pg extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous ended the dinosaurs, including Columbocristatus.
Columbocristatus was a huge hadrosaurid from what is now Columbia in the Late Cretaceous about 69-66 mya. Until its discovery, it was just taken for granted Gondwanan hadrosaurs were at most the same size as their more famous and (preservation wise)more numerous Laurasian counterparts. Then this whopper of a hadrosaur was found with partial skeletons of adults and complete juvenile skeletons. At about 15 meters long and 17.5 tonnes, this giant rivaled Shantungosaurus in mass. Why this hadrosaur grew so large is not exactly known although the numerous food is suspected to be a factor.
Columbocristatus is suspected to live in small herds more like White-tailed deer or elephants or possibly even solitary as they have not been found in large numbers. They would have been able to eat from trees, bushes, and ferns from the ground. These giants may have had a symbiotic relationship with small ornithopods and parankylosaurs helping to drop branches on the ground and just hanging out with Columbocristatus would have served the benefit of discouraging predators. These hadrosaurs probably laid eggs in nests that were covered with vegetation although nothing is certain. It is known that younglings would have been the most at risk from predation. Megaraptors such as Maip and carnotaurine abelisaurids like Ceravenator are known to be apex predators of South America in the Late Cretaceous although since Columbocristatus was so large, only weakened individuals would be at risk. The mitre shaped crest is likely to serve as a display structure.
The K-Pg extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous ended the dinosaurs, including Columbocristatus.
![[-]](https://tch-forum.com/images/coffeehouse2/collapse.png)
!
?)
![[Image: XJXXxYq.png]](https://i.imgur.com/XJXXxYq.png)
