Olorotitan
Name:
Olorotitan
(Giant Swan).
Phonetic: Oh-low-ro-ti-tan.
Named By: Pascal Godefroit, Yuri Bolotsky
& Vladimir Alifanov - 2003.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Ornithopoda, Hadrosauridae, Euhadrosauria,
Lambeosaurinae.
Species: O. arharensis (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Up to 12 meters long.
Known locations: Russia, Amur Region -
Tsagayan Formation.
Time period: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete specimen.
Hadrosaurs
have a long association with North America, but they are known from
other areas like Asia where they are usually represented by
incomplete remains. Olorotitan however was almost
complete and became
widespread through palaeontology circles as the most complete
lambeosaurine hadrosaurid
outside of North America. With eighteen
vertebrae Olorotitan is also remarkable for having
a very long neck for
a hadrosaurid, and it was this neck length that was the inspiration
for its name which means ‘giant swan’.
Olorotitan
had a distinctive head crest that rose up from the top and back of the
skull and points backwards in what has been called a hatchet shape.
The crests on lambeosaurine hadrosaurids are thought to have served a
similar purpose as the horns and frills of ceratopsian dinosaurs in
that they would allow an individual to recognise others of its own
species from similar dinosaurs as well as being coloured to reveal the
vitality of the individual. However it is also possible that the
hollow structure of the crest may have acted as a resonating chamber to
affect the sound of its calls. This thinking is based upon the crest
being expanded from the nasal bones, and if accurate, it would give
Olorotitan an ability similar to what has been
proposed for
Parasaurolophus.
Olorotitan
also seems to have had a very rigid tail as evidenced by the presence
of articulations between the neural spines of the caudal vertebrae of
the first third portion of the tail (from where the tail joins the
body). A theory to explain this is that they were formed as the
result of an infection in the individual’s life, but the regularity
of their occurrence has cast doubt upon this idea. Further Olorotitan
specimens, particularly of the hind quarters and caudal vertebra
would likely confirm one theory over the other.
The
fact that Olorotitan exists in Asia at a time when
other lambeosaurine
hadrosaurids seem to have disappeared from North America suggests that
the two continents were climatically different to one another, with a
Asia having a more suitable habitat for lambeosaurines. A climatic
difference could also explain why fossils of sauropods are also known
from some areas of Asia long after they disappeared in North America.
Further reading
- A remarkable hollow-crested hadrosaur from Russia: an Asian origin
for lambeosaurines - Comptes Rendus Palevol 2 (2): 143–151 - Pascal
Godefroit, YuriBolotsky, & Vladimir Alifanov - 2003.
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