4.8" Hypacrosaurus Dinosaur Fossil Vertebrae Two Medicine FM Montana COA, Stand
Location: Two Medicine Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)
Total Weight: 3 Pounds 8.2 Ounces
Fossil Bone Weight: 2 Pounds 14.6 Ounces
Fossil Dimensions: 4.8 Inches Long, 3.4 Inches Wide, 3 Inches Thick
With Stand Dimensions: 6 Inches Long, 3 Inches Wide, 3 Inches Thick
Comes with a Custom Made Metal Stand.
Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
The item pictured is the one you will receive.
This is a real fossil
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.
Considering the typical clutch size of around twenty eggs per Hypacrosaurus nest, it suggests the species bred at a rate sufficient to offset significant mortality rates. Provided environmental factors were relatively stable, this reproductive strategy likely reflects Hypacrosaurus’s role as a prevalent prey species during its era. Aside from tyrannosaurs, other predators such as troodontids, including Troodon, may have posed substantial threats, particularly to juvenile individuals, thereby limiting the number that reached maturity.
The Hypacrosaurus crest closely resembles that of its relative Corythosaurus, though it is broader and lower in height. Its hollow structure confirms its inclusion among the lambeosaurine hadrosaurids, a group exemplified by Lambeosaurus. Various hypotheses exist regarding the purpose of these crests, with the prevailing theory suggesting they functioned as visual signals, enabling different hadrosaur species to distinguish one another, similar to how contrasting horn and neck frill shapes differentiate genera among ceratopsian dinosaurs.
