4.2" Hypacrosaurus Dinosaur Fossil Vertebrae Two Medicine FM Cretaceous MT COA
Location: Two Medicine Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)
Weight: 1 Pound 1.4 Ounces
Dimensions: 4.2 Inches Long, 2.9 Inches Wide, 2.2 Inches Thick
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Hypacrosaurus Dinosaur
Hypacrosaurus means ‘near the highest lizard’, and in this context, the ‘lizard’ was actually the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs in the ecosystems of late Cretaceous North America, but only about a third larger than Hypacrosaurus in the largest individuals (twelve meters for a large individual Tyrannosaurus compared to nine meters for Hypacrosaurus). Interestingly, Hypacrosaurus and other dinosaurs like it may have actually been prey to Tyrannosaurus and other related genera such as Albertosaurus. Evidence for this comes from a huge bite wound inflicted on the back of an Edmontosaurus that closely matches the shape of a Tyrannosaurus' mouth. Because the bones in the wound actually healed afterwards, this proves that the Edmontosaurus in question was alive when it happened, and not a case of a tyrannosaur simply scavenging an existing carcass.
Comparing this to the approximately twenty eggs in each Hypacrosaurus nest suggests that these dinosaurs bred at a high rate to offset significant mortality. Assuming environmental factors were minimal, this high mortality was likely due to Hypacrosaurus being a common prey species, with predators including troodontids like Troodon, which particularly threatened smaller individuals, limiting the number reaching adulthood. The Hypacrosaurus crest, similar but broader and lower than its relative Corythosaurus, was hollow, confirming its classification as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid. The most supported theory about these crests is that they served as visual displays, helping different hadrosaur species distinguish each other, much like how horns and frills differentiate ceratopsian genera.
