In Depth
Latirhinus should not be confused with Altirhinus, as not only do they have similar sounding names (only difference being the position of the ’l’ and ’a’ at the start), both were hadrosaurs and both were named after the enlarged bony protuberances on their snouts. Latirhinus was a form of saurolophine hadrosaur, a type noted for not having a hollow bony head crest. However discoveries of Edmontosaurus indicate that a fleshy head crest might have been present, though such a feature is unknown for certain for Latirhinus.
The holotype fossils of Latirhinus were recovered from Mexico which in the late cretaceous would have been the southern most portion of Laramidia, a landmass that stretched along the western portion of what is now North America. This landmass was mostly separated from the eastern portion of North America by the Western interior seaway. Here Latirhinus alongside other hadrosaurs such as Velafrons and Kritosaurus, as well as ceratopsians such as Coahuilaceratops.
Further Reading
- Latirhinus uitstlani, a ‘broad-nosed’ saurolophine hadrosaurid (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) from the late Campanian (Cretaceous) of northern Mexico - Historical Biology 24 (6): 607–619 - Albert Prieto-M�rquez & Prieto-M�rquez Serrano Bra�as - 2012.
