Velafrons

Vel-ah-fronz.
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Harper Gray

Paleoartist

Harper Grey combines artistic talent with scientific precision to bring extinct creatures and environments back to life. Collaborating closely with paleontologists

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Name

Velafrons ‭(‬Sailed forehead‭)‬.

Phonetic

Vel-ah-fronz.

Named By

Terry A.‭ ‬Gates,‭ ‬Scott D.‭ ‬Sampson,‭ ‬Carlos R.‭ ‬Delgado de Jes�s,‭ ‬Lindsay E.‭ ‬Zanno,‭ ‬David Eberth,‭ ‬Rene Hernandez-Rivera,‭ ‬Martha C.‭ ‬Aguill�n Mart�nez‭ & ‬James I Kirkland‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ornithopoda,‭ ‬Hadrosauridae,‭ ‬Lambeosaurinae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

V.‭ ‬coahuilensis‭

Size

Estimated around‭ ‬7.6‭ ‬meters long for the holotype,‭ ‬adults may have approached around‭ ‬10‭ ‬meters long when fully grown.

Known locations

Mexico‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cerro del Pueblo Formation.

Time Period

Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Skull and partial skeleton of a juvenile.

In Depth

       The description of Velafrons is based upon the remains of a juvenile individual.‭ ‬This has allowed for an increased insight into how hadrosaurs developed as they grew up,‭ ‬though the case of Velafrons is a little different.‭ ‬Most hadrosaurs known from juvenile individuals show a proportionately large skull in relation to the body size in younger juveniles,‭ ‬steadily getting smaller as the animal ages and grows into its adult body.‭ ‬This is also seen in Velafrons,‭ ‬but the skull is still quite large for its stage of development.‭ ‬Additionally the crest is present but small when compared to other genera.‭ ‬What this means is that Velafrons may have grown at a different rate to other lambeosaurine hadrosaurids.‭ ‬Also,‭ ‬the crest of Velafrons may have been smaller than the crests of other genera,‭ ‬though it should be remembered that since the holotype is of a juvenile,‭ ‬the crest in adults was likely to be larger and/or slightly different in form.

       With an adult size estimated to be around the ten meter long mark,‭ ‬Velafrons was probably around the upper average size for North American hadrosaurs during the Campanian stage of the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬However even though this was quite big,‭ ‬some like Magnapaulia grew quite a bit larger than this.‭ ‬Velafrons is classed as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid because the crest on its skull is hollow.‭ ‬Out of all the lambeosaurines,‭ ‬Corythosaurus and Hypacrosaurus are considered to be particularly close relatives.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Velafrons coahuilensis,‭ ‬a new lambeosaurine hadrosaurid‭ (‬Dinosauria:‭ ‬Ornithopoda‭) ‬from the Late Campanian Cerro del Pueblo Formation,‭ ‬Coahuila,‭ ‬Mexico,‭ ‬Terry A.‭ ‬Gates,‭ ‬Scott D.‭ ‬Sampson,‭ ‬Carlos R.‭ ‬Delgado de Jesus,‭ ‬Lindsay E.‭ ‬Zanno,‭ ‬David Eberth,‭ ‬Rene Hernandez-Rivera,‭ ‬Martha C.‭ ‬Aguillon Mart�nez‭ & ‬James I.‭ ‬Kirkland‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.

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