Saurolophus angustirostris

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Time: Late Cretaceous (~70 million years ago)

Region: Gobi desert, Mongolia

Formation: Nemegt Formation

Coloration Data

Alternating zones of distinctly differentiated scales were discovered along the dinosaur's tail, leading researchers to conclude that it most likely exhibited a vertically striped coloration. This inference relies on comparative data from extant reptiles, in which boundaries between different color patterns frequently — though not invariably — correspond to shifts in scale morphology, size, or surface texture.

Method: Morphological analysis of fossilized integument and scale architecture.

Publications

• Phil R. Bell (2012)
  A study of the skin of Saurolophus from Mongolia and Canada.

Documents and files

• Bell_2012.pdf (PDF)
  Article on the scale morphology of Saurolophus angustirostris and Saurolophus osborni.

Reconstructions

Fossils

Size comparison