**Edmontosaurus annectens: The Connected Lizard**
Edmontosaurus annectens is a well-known dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 to 66 million years ago. This dinosaur roamed what we now call western North America.
**Name and Discovery**
The name Edmontosaurus means “connected lizard from Edmonton.” It was also known as Anatosaurus, meaning “duck lizard” due to its duck-like head shape.
Scientists have found many fossils of Edmontosaurus annectens. These fossils were discovered in areas like Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Saskatchewan in Canada. The fossils include many skulls and skeletons.
**Size and Appearance**
Edmontosaurus annectens was quite large. It could reach lengths of about 12 meters or around 39 feet and weighed around 5.6 tons on average! Some may have been even bigger.
One of its most striking features is its long, flat skull that resembles a duck bill. This unusual shape helped it to feed on plants.
**History of Classification**
Edmontosaurus annectens has a complicated history when it comes to its scientific classification. Over the years, it has been given different names and placed into various groups by different scientists. Names like Diclonius and Trachodon were used in early studies, but ultimately, in the 1980s, paleontologist Michael Brett-Surman correctly identified this dinosaur as Edmontosaurus.
**Growth and Behavior**
Much about how Edmontosaurus lived is understood. It was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. The structure of its teeth allowed it to grind plant material effectively. Its beak could crop leaves and twigs, and this dinosaur likely fed both on the ground and from higher up in trees.
Like other hadrosaurs, Edmontosaurus could walk on two legs or four. It probably preferred moving on all fours when eating.
**Paleoecology: Its World**
Edmontosaurus annectens lived in lush environments filled with various types of plants. The regions it inhabited included floodplains and forests. Other dinosaurs, such as Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus, shared its habitat. Fossils indicate that Edmontosaurus was a common dinosaur in its ecosystem, representing a large part of the dinosaur population during the Late Cretaceous.
In conclusion, Edmontosaurus annectens was an impressive dinosaur known for its size, unique skull shape, and importance within its ecological community. It provides valuable insight into the diversity of dinosaurs and their environments just before the extinction event that ended the age of dinosaurs.