A Life Reconstruction of Tsintaosaurus (T. spinorhinus)

Formally named and described sixty years ago (1958), we feature in today’s blog posting the bizarre Lambeosaurine Tsintaosaurus (Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus).  This dinosaur, often referred to as a “unicorn-like” dinosaur because of its bizarre crest, comes from the Wangshi Formation of Shandong Province (eastern China).

A Life Reconstruction of the Lambeosaurine Tsintaosaurus (T. spinorhinus)

Picture credit: Zhao Chuang

The Anterior Portions of a Hadrosaurid

The picture above was painted by renowned Chinese palaeoartist Zhao Chuang.  This great illustrator has produced numerous paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, many of which have been used in scientific papers and reports.  Why in this instance only the anterior portion of the dinosaur is shown, we cannot say, although this does give the viewer the opportunity to focus on that bizarre head crest.

The presence of a upright horn-like crest on the snout of Tsintaosaurus has been disputed.  Some palaeontologists noted that this sliver of bone that represented the horn could in fact be a piece of the nasal bone (naris), that had become displaced and deformed as a result of the fossilisation process.  It was the eminent French palaeontologist Eric Buffetaut, whilst studying skull material who confirmed that this strange process was indeed a horn.  Its function remains uncertain.  It may have played a role in visual communication and it could have had a flap of skin running down its front edge, a viewpoint supported by Zhao Chuang’s excellent illustration.

The CollectA Tsintaosaurus Dinosaur Model

Models and figures of this Late Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaur are few and far between but CollectA did add a Tsintaosaurus replica to their not-to-scale “Prehistoric Life” model range in 2012.

The CollectA Tsintaosaurus Dinosaur Model

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Models.

Sadly, this figure is believed to have been retired by CollectA and no more models of this Chinese duck-billed dinosaur will be produced.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.