History UsefulNotes / PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs

* The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was very similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' apart for a more rounded, less flattened muzzle, to the point to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''", because was slightly earlier than it but lived about in the same places). A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian duckbills include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest hadrosaur, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

* Everywhere seems to have started with a large ornithopod. We have ''Hadrosaurus'' in the USA, ''Iguanodon'' in Europe; and what about China? Here, the role was assumed by a little-known hadrosaur, ''Mandschurosaurus'' - “Mandschuria” is the German graphy for Manchuria, the northern Chinese region where the find was made in 1930. This is not a mere case however: remember ornithopods were the “antelopes” of their time... and we know well antelopes are the most numerous large mammals in Africa.Then, several others followed: the most debated has been ''Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus'' ("spine-nosed lizard from Tsing-tao", the capital city of Shandong). See UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs for it.

* Some hadrosaurs traditionally considered similar to ''Corythosaurus'' are known from Asia: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsboldia Barsboldia]]'' (named after Mongolian scientist Rinchen Barsbold, and recently reclassified as more related to ''Edmontosaurus'' than to ''Corythosaurus''), ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxartosaurus Jaxartosaurus]]'' (from the Jaxartes river in Central Asia, a ''Corythosaurus'' relative but maybe too basal to have already developed a prominent crest), and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponosaurus Nipponosaurus]]'' ("Japanese lizard"), the latest two being found in the ex Soviet Union. The formerly-largest country in the world has surprisingly left few dinosaurs compared with USA, Canada and China: many of them are hadrosaurs. In the 1990s-2000s, two brand new crested hadrosaurs were found near the Amur river which divides Russia from China: the meaningfully-named ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amurosaurus Amurosaurus]]'' and the spectacular hatchet-crested ''Olorotitan'' ("titanic swan": a clear reference to ''Anatotitan'' the "titanic duck"). While the amurosaur's crest is not known from fossils, ''Olorotitan'' revealed a totally new kind of crest, reminescent of an upright axe pointing backwards. ''Olorotitan'', together with ''Secernosaurus'' above and ''Telmatosaurus'' below, shows up in 2022' BBC documentary ''[[Series/PrehistoricPlanet Prehistoric Planet]]''. Similar olorotitan-looking appendages were later found in other dinosaurs of the Hadrosauridae, for example the north-american ''Velafrons'' ("sail-front") and, more recently, even in the classic allegedly "unicorn duckbill" ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was very similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' apart for a more rounded, less flattened muzzle, to the point to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''", because was slighty earlier than it but lived about in the same places). A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian duckbills include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest hadrosaur, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

* After Leidy described ''Hadrosaurus'' in 1858 as a generic Iguanodon-like animal, then Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh described for the first time hadrosaurians as “duck”-headed dinosaurs in the following 1870s/1880s. Cope described the popular “[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Trachodon copei]]” (and also the enigmatic ''Pteropelyx'' and the teeth of ''"Cionodon"'' and ''"Diclonius"''); Marsh a much more obscure animal than the "trachodont": ''Claosaurus agilis'', a fragmentary animal which is worth of note both because was one third long than most other hadrosaurs, and because is was traditionally believed the most primitive North American duckbill. After its description, ''Claosaurus agilis'' ("agile broken lizard", because of its incompleteness and its slenderness) was involved in the incredible "Trachodon"/''Anatosaurus''/''Edmontosaurus''/"Anatotitan" taxonomic tangle, and today is often regarded as a close hadrosaur-ancestor but still not a proper hadrosaur.

* “Loph-” is a common particle among hadrosaurian names (and theropodian as well: think about “Dilophosaurus”…); this is indeed the Greek for crest. Other than ''Saurolophus'' and ''Parasaurolophus'', there is also a third similarly-named hadrosaur, ''Prosaurolophus'', which means “before ''Saurolophus''” (and was probably related with it). Another is ''Brachylophosaurus'' (“short crested lizard”, maybe closer to ''Maiasaura''), and still another is the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lophorhothon Lophorhothon]]'' ("crested nose"). The latter was once thought a juvenile ''Prosaurolophus''; today is generally regarded as a pre-hadrosaur like ''Claosaurus''. The first two examples are small, primitive North American true hadrosaurs found some years after ''Saurolophus'' but with incospicuous crests similarly to ''Maiasaura''. From North America come other two very recent and interesting discoveries (both belonging to the "hollow-crest" subfamily of hadrosaurs): ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angulomastacator Angulomastacator]]'' (lit. "angular chewer") with its curious jaws curving below, maybe to better take vegetation on the ground; and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velafrons Velafrons]]'' (lit. "sail front") which looks rather like the Asian ''Olorotitan''.

* In spite of having left abundant remains, their comparatively modest appearance make ''Prosaurolophus'' & ''Brachylophosaurus'' rare sights in media -- even though ''Brachylophosaurus'' has recently given us some spectacular fossils which might make it more widely-known: among these, a true “mummy” (named "Leonardo"), just like ''Edmontosaurus''. Some scientists have hypothized that ''Brachylophosaurus'' and ''Maiasaura'' used their thickened cranial crest for headbutting their rivals, a bit like what has traditionally been said about [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifePachycephalosaurs pachycephalosaurians]]: like the latter, this hyp is not demonstrated -- even though some hadrosaurian ribs fractured and then hailed could be a possible proof of this behavior.

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they belong to the genus ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huallasaurus Huallasaurus]]'', described in 2022. These remains were once believed to be from the animal that was for long time the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one and ''Huallasaurus'' could have been among of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]''. The secernosaur has been portrayed as a carnotaur prey in illustrations. Another south-american hadrosaur described in 2017 owes its name from famous Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonapartesaurus Bonapartesaurus]]''. All three genera belong to the same hadrosaur subgroup, the Kritosaurines, and arguably shared a common North American ancestor.

The hadrosaurs commonly shown in media are usually North-American. Other than the four most known kinds, aka ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Parasaurolophus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Edmontosaurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Maiasaura]]'', and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Corythosaurus]]'' (the animal of the image), other "duck-billed dinosaurs" that have been quite common are: ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Hadrosaurus]]'' (the official but fragmentary prototype of the family), ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Kritosaurus]]'' (whose portrayals actually are based upon another relative, ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Gryposaurus]]''), ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Saurolophus]]'' (often confused but not-related with ''Parasaurolophus''), and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Lambeosaurus]]'' (this one may get confused with ''Corythosaurus''). All them have even made occasional apparitions in films, novels, and TV programs. Since the 1990s ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Hypacrosaurus]]'' has also began to show up with a certain frequence. Among Asian kinds the gigantic ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Shantungosaurus]]'' and the "unicorn" ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tsintaosaurus]]'' are those most portrayed, together with the Asian species of ''Saurolophus''.

* Some hadrosaurs traditionally considered similar to ''Corythosaurus'' are known from Asia: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsboldia Barsboldia]]'' (named after Mongolian scientist Rinchen Barsbold, and recently reclassified as more related to ''Edmontosaurus'' than to ''Corythosaurus''), ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxartosaurus Jaxartosaurus]]'' (from the Jaxartes river in Central Asia, a ''Corythosaurus'' relative but maybe too basal to have already developed a prominent crest), and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponosaurus Nipponosaurus]]'' ("Japanese lizard"), the latest two being found in the ex Soviet Union. The formerly-largest country in the world has surprisingly left few dinosaurs compared with USA, Canada and China: many of them are hadrosaurs. In the 1990s-2000s, two brand new crested hadrosaurs were found near the Amur river which divides Russia from China: the meaningfully-named ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amurosaurus Amurosaurus]]'' and the spectacular hatchet-crested ''Olorotitan'' ("titanic swan": a clear reference to ''Anatotitan'' the "titanic duck"). While the amurosaur's crest is not known from fossils, ''Olorotitan'' revealed a totally new kind of crest, reminescent of an upright axe pointing backwards. Similar-looking appendages was later found in other dinosaurs of the Hadrosauridae, for example the north-american ''Velafrons'' ("sail-front") and, very recently, even in the classic allegedly "unicorn duckbill" ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they belong to the genus ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huallasaurus Huallasaurus]]'', described in 2023. These remains were once believed to be from the animal that was for long time the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one and ''Huallasaurus'' could have been among of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]''. The secernosaur has been portrayed as a carnotaur prey in illustrations. Another south-american hadrosaur described in 2017 owes its name from famous Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonapartesaurus Bonapartesaurus]]''.

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they almost certainly belong to the animal that was for long time the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one could have been one of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]'', and has been portrayed as such in illustrations. Another south-american hadrosaur described in 2017 owes its name from famous Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonapartesaurus Bonapartesaurus]]''.

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they almost certainly belong to the animal that was for long time the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one could have been one of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]'', and has been portrayed as such in illustrations. Another south-american hadrosaur described in 2017 owes its name from famous Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte, ''Bonapartesaurus''.

'''Parasaurolophus of Asia:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charonosaurus Charonosaurus]]''

'''Hadrosaur or Iguanodont?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrosaurus Bactrosaurus]]''

'''Another Precursor:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probactrosaurus Probactrosaurus]]''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20120322082015corythosaurus_thumb.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:A giant duck with 1,000 teeth in the mouth.]]

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they almost certainly belong to the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one could have been one of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]'', and has been portrayed as such in illustrations. Another south-american hadrosaur described in 2017 owes its name from famous Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte, ''Bonapartesaurus''.

'''A Complete European Hadrosaur:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethyshadros Tethyshadros]]''

* In year 2009 the ornithopod ''Tethyshadros insularis'' ("island-dwelling hadrosaur from Tethys") was found in Northern Italy; this is now the most complete European duckbill, even though ''Telmatosaurus'' appears more widespread in European fossil sites. [[ScienceMarchesOn Recent research]], however, put even these two dinosaurs slightly outside the Hadrosaur crown group. Other two recently found duckbills in Spain, ''Koutalisaurus'' and ''Pararhabdodon'', seem real hadrosaurs, maybe related with ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* Some “Kritosaurus” remains have been described in South America, but they almost certainly belong to the only surely-valid South American hadrosaur: ''Secernosaurus'' ("separated lizard"), a small primitive duckbill which is likely a migrant of North American origins. This one could have been one of the favorite preys for the famous bull-horned ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Carnotaurus]]'', and has been portrayed as such in illustrations.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20120322082015corythosaurus_thumb.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:Quack! Quack!]]

* In spite of having left abundant remains, their comparatively modest appearance make ''Prosaurolophus'' & ''Brachylophosaurus'' rare sights in media -- even though ''Brachylophosaurus'' has recently given us some spectacular fossils which might make it more widely-known: among these, a true “mummy” (named "Leonardo"), just like ''Edmontosaurus''. Some scientists have hypothized that ''Brachylophosaurus'' and ''Maiasaura'' used their thickened cranial crest for headbutting their rivals, a bit like what has traditionally been said about pachycephalosaurians: like the latter, this hyp is not demonstrated -- even though some hadrosaurian ribs fractured and then hailed could be a possible proof of this behavior.

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs or pre-hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest duckbills known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, or a middle-way beetween crested and crestless hadrosaurs. It had any crest on its head, and was still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look apart from the flatter beak – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. Some suspected it had small thumbspikes like those of other two pre-hadrosaurs, ''Ouranosaurus'' and ''Probactrosaurus'' (see just below).

* While most Asian dinosaurs are known from China and/or Mongolia, several duckbills or pre-duckbills were found in unusual countries such as the former USSR, ex. ''Bactrosaurus'', ''Jaxartosaurus'', and ''Aralosaurus'' (found next to the [[GaiasLament drying Aral Sea]]), and even in Japan (''Nipponosaurus''). Nippon or Nihon is the proper name of Japan, but actually ''Nipponosaurus'' was dug out in the Russian island of Sakhalin, but at the time of its finding (1934) this island was Japanese. Dinosaurs from actual Japan have been discovered only since the 1980s, and officially named only since the 1990s, ex. the theropods ''Wakinosaurus'' and ''Fukuiraptor'', and the yet-undescribed hadrosaur "Hironosaurus". But there are also few hadrosaurs that have been found in Europe. The traditionally most-known is ''Telmatosaurus''; another more fragmentary is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthomerus Orthomerus]]''. A smallish animal known from incomplete fossils, ''Telmatosaurus'' ("marsh-living lizard") is one of the several dinosaurs discovered in Late-Cretaceous Central Europe from France to Romania, along with ''Struthiosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Rhabdodon'', and the primitive [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirds flightless bird]] ''Balaur''. At the time most Europe was covered by the ancient inner-ocean Tethys (considered the ancestor of the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas), and small islands were the only pieces of dryland ''Telmatosaurus'' could have lived on. How it was able to reach these islands from Asia is still a mystery.

* If you see a “trumpet”-crested hadrosaur in books or documentaries, be sure it’s a ''Parasaurolophus''… unless you’re watching a work made after year 2000. Indeed, in that year a very ''Parasaurolophus''-like hadrosaur was discovered in the same Amur site cited above: ''Charonosaurus'' ("[[Myth/GreekMythology Charon]] lizard"). This one was also bigger than its North-American cousin… only, its skull is incomplete, with ''only the base'' of the crest preserved; the shape of the remaining crest is only a guess. Nonetheless, the discover of the “Amur hadrosaurs” has enhanced our knowledge of duckbills in general. Before that, the Asian were considered generally more primitive than the North-American ones. As we know their Asian counterparts, [[ScienceMarchesOn this is not true anymore]]. Among the latter, also described in the 2000s were the Saurolophus-like ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberosaurus Kerberosaurus]]'', ''Sahaliyania'' (named after the Sakhalin Island, east of Siberia), and ''Wulagasaurus''.

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs or pre-hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest duckbills known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, but without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look apart from the flatter beak – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. Some suspected it had small thumbspikes like those of other two pre-hadrosaurs, ''Ouranosaurus'' and ''Probactrosaurus'' (see just below).

* If you see a “trumpet”-crested hadrosaur in books or documentaries, be sure it’s a ''Parasaurolophus''… unless you’re watching a work made after year 2000. Indeed, in that year a very ''Parasaurolophus''-like hadrosaur was discovered in the same Amur site cited above: ''Charonosaurus'' ("[[Myth/GreekMythology Charon]] lizard"). This one was also bigger than its North-American cousin… only, its skull is incomplete, with ''only the base'' of the crest preserved; the shape of the remaining crest is only a guess. Nonetheless, the discover of the “Amur hadrosaurs” has enhanced our knowledge of duckbills in general. Before that, the Asian were considered generally more primitive than the North-American ones. As we know their Asian counterparts, [[ScienceMarchesOn this is not true anymore]]. Among the latter, also described in the 2000s were the Saurolophus-like ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberosaurus Kerberosaurus]]'', ''Sahaliyania'', and ''Wulagasaurus''.

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs or pre-hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest duckbills known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, but without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. Some suspected it had small thumbspikes like ''Ouranosaurus'' or ''Probactrosaurus'' (see just below).

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs or pre-hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest duckbills known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, but without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper.

'''Before Bactrosaurus:''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probactrosaurus Probactrosaurus]]''

* The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was very similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' apart for a more rounded, less flattened muzzle, to the point to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''"). A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian duckbills include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest hadrosaur, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

'''Hadrosaurs or Iguanodonts?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrosaurus Bactrosaurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probactrosaurus Probactrosaurus]]''

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs or pre-hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest duckbills known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was so similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''"). A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian duckbills include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest hadrosaur, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

* In year 2009 the ornithopod ''Tethyshadros insularis'' ("island-dwelling hadrosaur from Tethys") was found in Northern Italy; this is now the most complete European duckbill, even though ''Telmatosaurus'' was more widespread in European fossil sites. [[ScienceMarchesOn Recent research]], however, put even these two dinosaurs slightly outside the Hadrosaur crown group. Other two recently found duckbills in Spain, ''Koutalisaurus'' and ''Pararhabdodon'', seem real hadrosaurs, maybe related with ''Tsintaosaurus''.

'''Ancient Mediterraneans:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telmatosaurus Telmatosaurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethyshadros Tethyshadros]]''

* While most Asian dinosaurs are known from China and/or Mongolia, several duckbills or pre-duckbills were found in unusual countries such as the former USSR, ex. ''Bactrosaurus'', ''Jaxartosaurus'', and ''Aralosaurus'' (found next to the [[GaiasLament drying Aral Sea]]), and even in Japan (''Nipponosaurus''). Nippon or Nihon is the proper name of Japan, but actually ''Nipponosaurus'' was dug out in the Russian island of Sakhalin, but at the time of its finding (1934) this island was Japanese. Dinosaurs from actual Japan have been discovered only since the 1980s, and officially named only since the 1990s, ex. the theropods ''Wakinosaurus'' and ''Fukuiraptor'', and the yet-undescribed hadrosaur "Hironosaurus". But there are also few hadrosaurs that have been found in Europe. The traditionally most-known is ''Telmatosaurus''; another more fragmentary is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthomerus Orthomerus]]''. A smallish animal known from incomplete fossils, ''Telmatosaurus'' ("marsh-living lizard") is one of the several dinosaurs discovered in Late-Cretaceous Central Europe from France to Romania, along with ''Struthiosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Rhabdodon'', and the primitive [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirds flightless bird]] ''Balaur''. At the time most Europe was covered by the ancient inner-ocean Tethys (considered the ancestor of the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas), and small islands were the only pieces of dryland ''Telmatosaurus'' could have lived on. How it was able to reach these islands from Asia is still a mystery. In year 2009 its relative ''Tethyshadros insularis'' ("island-dwelling hadrosaur from Tethys") was found in Northern Italy; this is now the most complete European duckbill. [[ScienceMarchesOn Recent research]], however, put even these two dinosaurs slightly outside the Hadrosaur crown group. Other two recently found duckbills in Spain, ''Koutalisaurus'' and ''Pararhabdodon'', seem real hadrosaurs, maybe related with ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* Some other Asian hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'' or ''Saurolophus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest hadrosaurs known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest hadrosaurs, without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was so similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''"). A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian hadrosaurs include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest duckbill, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

* While most Asian dinosaurs are known from China and/or Mongolia, several duckbills or pre-duckbills were found in unusual countries such as the former USSR, ex. ''Bactrosaurus'', ''Jaxartosaurus'', and ''Aralosaurus'' (found next to the [[GaiasLament drying Aral Sea]]), and even in Japan (''Nipponosaurus''). Nippon or Nihon is the proper name of Japan, but actually ''Nipponosaurus'' was dug out in the Russian island of Sakhalin, but at the time of its finding (1934) this island was Japanese. Dinosaurs from actual Japan have been discovered only since the 1980s, and officially named only since the 1990s, ex. the theropods ''Wakinosaurus'' and ''Fukuiraptor'', and the yet-undescribed hadrosaur "Hironosaurus". But there are also few hadrosaurs that have been found in Europe: the traditionally most-known is ''Telmatosaurus''; another more fragmentary is ''Orthomerus''. A smallish animal known from incomplete fossils, ''Telmatosaurus'' ("marsh-living lizard") is one of the several dinosaurs discovered in Late-Cretaceous Central Europe from France to Romania, along with ''Struthiosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Rhabdodon'', and the primitive [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirds flightless bird]] ''Balaur''. At the time most Europe was covered by the ancient inner-ocean Tethys (considered the ancestor of the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas), and small islands were the only pieces of dryland ''Telmatosaurus'' could have lived on. How it was able to reach these islands from Asia is still a mystery. In year 2009 its relative ''Tethyshadros insularis'' ("island-dwelling hadrosaur from Tethys") was found in Northern Italy; this is now the most complete European duckbill. [[ScienceMarchesOn Recent research]], however, put even these two dinosaurs slightly outside the Hadrosaur crown group. Other two recently found duckbills in Spain, ''Koutalisaurus'' and ''Pararhabdodon'', seem real hadrosaurs, maybe related with ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* While most Asian dinosaurs are known from China and/or Mongolia, several duckbills or pre-duckbills were found in unusual countries such as the former USSR, ex. ''Bactrosaurus'', ''Jaxartosaurus'', and ''Aralosaurus'' (found next to the [[GaiasLament drying Aral Sea]]), and even in Japan (''Nipponosaurus'') [[note]]Nippon or Nihon is the proper name of Japan. But actually ''Nipponosaurus'' was dug out in the Russian island of Sakhalin, but at the time of its finding (1934) this island was Japanese. Dinosaurs from actual Japan have been discovered only since the 1980s, and officially named only since the 1990s, ex. the theropods ''Wakinosaurus'' and ''Fukuiraptor'', and the yet-undescribed hadrosaur "Hironosaurus".[[/note]]. But there are also few hadrosaurs that have been found in Europe: the traditionally most-known is ''Telmatosaurus''; another more fragmentary is ''Orthomerus''. A smallish animal known from incomplete fossils, ''Telmatosaurus'' ("marsh-living lizard") is one of the several dinosaurs discovered in Late-Cretaceous Central Europe from France to Romania, along with ''Struthiosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Rhabdodon'', and the primitive [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirds flightless bird]] ''Balaur bondoc''. At the time most Europe was covered by the ancient inner-ocean Tethys (considered the ancestor of the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas), and small islands were the only pieces of dryland ''Telmatosaurus'' could have lived on. How it was able to reach these islands from Asia is still a mystery. In year 2009 its relative ''Tethyshadros insularis'' ("island-dwelling hadrosaur from Tethys") was found in Northern Italy; this is now the most complete European duckbill. [[ScienceMarchesOn Recent research]], however, put even these two dinosaurs slightly outside the Hadrosaur crown group. Other two recently found duckbills in Spain, ''Koutalisaurus'' and ''Pararhabdodon'', seem real hadrosaurs, maybe related with ''Tsintaosaurus''.

'''Primitive Asians'''

* A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian hadrosaurs include ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arstanosaurus Arstanosaurus]]'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest duckbill, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

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* Some other Asian hadrosaurs were much more generically-looking than ''Tsintaosaurus'': for example, ''Bactrosaurus'' ("lizard from Bactria", an ancient Central Asian region), one of the smallest hadrosaurs known – only 6 m long. Discovered in China and in Russia, ''Bactrosaurus'' is traditionally regarded as one of the earliest hadrosaurs, without any crest on its head, and still rather ''Iguanodon''-like in look – remember hadrosaurs are just very specialized iguanodontians phylogenetically speaking. But [[ScienceMarchesOn recent research]] has re-classified it outside Hadrosaurids proper. The bactrosaur's legacy with ''Iguanodon'' is confirmed by ''Probactrosaurus'', an Early Cretaceous ornithopod which, like ''Bactrosaurus'' was still not a proper hadrosaur, but was going to become such. Also Asian, it was so similar-looking to ''Bactrosaurus'' to have given in TheSeventies a concrete clue about hadrosaurs’ ancestry ([[NamesTheSame its name]] just means “before ''Bactrosaurus''").

* If you see a “trumpet”-crested hadrosaur in books or documentaries, be sure it’s a ''Parasaurolophus''… unless you’re watching a work made after year 2000. Indeed, in that year a very ''Parasaurolophus''-like hadrosaur was discovered in the same Amur site cited above: ''Charonosaurus'' ("[[Myth/GreekMythology Charon]] lizard"). This one was also bigger than its North-American cousin… only, its skull is incomplete, with ''only the base'' of the crest preserved; the shape of the remaining crest is only a guess. Nonetheless, the discover of the “Amur hadrosaurs” has enhanced our knowledge of duckbills in general. Before that, the Asian were considered generally more primitive than the North-American ones. As we know their Asian counterparts, [[ScienceMarchesOn this is not true anymore]]. Among the latter, also described in the 2000s were the Saurolophus-like ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberosaurus Kerberosaurus]]'', ''Sahaliyania'', and ''Wulagasaurus''. A very primitive hadrosaur or hadrosauroid from China is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmoreosaurus Gilmoreosaurus]]'', which was smaller and slimmer than most hadrosaurs - recalling the North American ''Claosaurus''. Other more fragmentary Asian hadrosaurs include ''Arstanosaurus'' (once often confused with a ceratopsian) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhadrosaurus Microhadrosaurus]]'', lit. "small Hadrosaurus": once believed the smallest duckbill, but today it's known its fossils are juveniles.

'''Beetween Russia and China:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olorotitan Olorotitan]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amurosaurus Amurosaurus]]''

* Some hadrosaurs traditionally considered similar to ''Corythosaurus'' are known from Asia: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsboldia Barsboldia]]'' (named after Mongolian scientist Rinchen Barsbold, and recently reclassified as more related to ''Edmontosaurus'' than to ''Corythosaurus''), ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxartosaurus Jaxartosaurus]]'' (from the Jaxartes river in Central Asia, a ''Corythosaurus'' relative but maybe too basal to have already developed a prominent crest), and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponosaurus Nipponosaurus]]'' ("Japanese lizard"), the latest two being found in the ex Soviet Union. The formerly-largest country in the world has surprisingly left few dinosaurs compared with USA, Canada and China: many of them are hadrosaurs. In the 1990s-2000s, two brand new crested hadrosaurs were found near the Amur river which divides Russia from China: the meaningfully-named ''Amurosaurus'' and the spectacular hatchet-crested ''Olorotitan'' ("titanic swan": a clear reference to ''Anatotitan'' the "titanic duck"). While ''Amurosaurus'' was similar-looking to ''Corythosaurus'', ''Olorotitan'' revealed a totally new kind of crest, reminescent of an upright axe pointing backwards. Similar-looking appendages was later found in other dinosaurs of the Hadrosauridae, for example the north-american ''Velafrons'' ("sail-front") and, very recently, even in the classic allegedly "unicorn duckbill" ''Tsintaosaurus''.

* Some flat-crested, Corythosaurus-like hadrosaurs are known from Asia: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsboldia Barsboldia]]'' (named after Mongolian scientist Rinchen Barsbold), ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxartosaurus Jaxartosaurus]]'' (from the Jaxartes river in Central Asia) and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipponosaurus Nipponosaurus]]'' ("Japanese lizard"), the latest two being found in the ex Soviet Union. The formerly-largest country in the world has surprisingly left few dinosaurs compared with USA, Canada and China: many of them are hadrosaurs. In the 1990s-2000s, two brand new crested hadrosaurs were found near the Amur river which divides Russia from China: the meaningfully-named ''Amurosaurus'' and the spectacular hatchet-crested ''Olorotitan'' ("titanic swan": a clear reference to ''Anatotitan'' the "titanic duck"). ''Olorotitan'' revealed a totally new kind of crest, reminescent of an upright axe pointing backwards: similar-looking appendages was later found in other dinosaurs of the Hadrosauridae, for example the north-american ''Velafrons'' ("sail-front") and, very recently, even in the classic allegedly "unicorn duckbill" ''Tsintaosaurus''.