3" Hypacrosaurus Dinosaur Fossil Vertebrae Bone Two Medicine FM Montana COA

Location: Two Medicine Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)

Weight: 7.8 Ounces 

Dimensions: 3 Inches Long, 2.8 Inches Wide, 1.5 Inches Thick

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

The item pictured is the one you will receive. 

Hypacrosaurus Dinosaur

Hypacrosaurus, meaning ‘near the highest lizard,’ was almost as massive as Tyrannosaurus—one of the fiercest predators prowling late Cretaceous North America—with the biggest Tyrannosaurus stretching twelve meters and Hypacrosaurus reaching nine. Boldly, these herbivores didn’t just coexist; they were likely hunted by Tyrannosaurus and its kin, like Albertosaurus. A dramatic clue lies in the massive bite mark on an Edmontosaurus’s back, perfectly matching a Tyrannosaurus jaw. Even more striking, the wound healed, proving this Edmontosaurus survived a deadly attack—not just a meal for scavengers.

When you compare this to the twenty or so eggs in each Hypacrosaurus nest, you get the conclusion that Hypacrosaurus was breeding at a rate to compensate for high mortality levels. Assuming that environmental conditions were not a major factor, this could mean Hypacrosaurus was a common and viable prey species of the time. Besides Tyrannosaurus, other predators might have included troodontids like Troodon, which would have posed a particular threat to the smaller individuals, reducing how many grew to adulthood.

The crest of Hypacrosaurus is similar to that of its relative Corythosaurus, though wider and not as tall. This crest was also hollow, confirming its classification as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid, a group typified by Lambeosaurus. Several theories have been proposed about the function of lambeosaurine head crests, but the most supported idea is that they served as visual displays, allowing different species of hadrosaur to recognize each other—probably similar to how horns and neck frills help identify different genera of ceratopsian dinosaurs.