page_title: Corythosaurus
section_title: Soft tissue
hierarchical_section_title: Corythosaurus / Description / Soft tissue
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of abdominal skin impressions of Corythosaurus, photographed in 1914
context_page_description: Corythosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid "duck-billed" dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Period, about 77–75.7 million years ago. It lived in what is now North America. Its name means "helmet lizard", derived from Greek κόρυς. It was named and described in 1914 by Barnum Brown. Corythosaurus is now thought to be a lambeosaurine, related to Nipponosaurus, Velafrons, Hypacrosaurus, and Olorotitan. Corythosaurus has an estimated length of 9 metres, and has a skull, including the crest, that is 70.8 centimetres tall.
  Corythosaurus is known from many complete specimens, including the nearly complete holotype found by Brown in 1911. The holotype skeleton is only missing the last section of the tail, and part of the forelimbs, but was preserved with impressions of polygonal scales. Corythosaurus is known from many skulls with tall crests. The crests resemble the crests of the cassowary and a Corinthian helmet. The most likely function of the crest is thought to be vocalization. As in a trombone, sound waves would travel through many chambers in the crest, and then get amplified when Corythosaurus exhaled. A Corythosaurus specimen has been preserved with its last meal in its chest cavity.
context_section_description: In the holotype of C. casuarius, the sides and tail of the body are covered in scales of several types. Polygonal tuberculate scales, covered in small bumps, vary in size over the body. Conical limpet-like scales are only preserved on a fold of skin preserved on the back of the tibia, but which was probably from the bottom of the belly, rather than the leg. Separating the polygonal scales of C. casuarius are shieldlike scales, arranged close together in rows. Ossified tendons are present on all the vertebrae, except for those in the cervical region. On no vertebrae do the tendons extend below the transverse processes. Each tendon is flattened at its origin, and transversely ovoid in the central rod, ending at a rounded point.
  Aside from those found on Corythosaurus casuarius, extensive skin impressions have been found on Edmontosaurus annectens and notable integument has also been found on Brachylophosaurus canadensis, Gryposaurus notabilis, Parasaurolophus walkeri, Lambeosaurus magnicristatus, L. lambei, Saurolophus angustirsotris and on unidentified ornithopods. Of these, L. lambei, C. casuarius, G. notabilis, P. walkeri, and S. angustirsotris have preserved polygonal scales. The scales on L. lambei, S. angustirostris and C. casuarius are all similar. Corythosaurus is one of very few hadrosaurids which have preserved skin impressions on the hind limbs and feet. A study in 2013 showed that amongst hadrosaurids, Saurolophus angustirostris preserved the best and most complete foot and limb integument, although other species like S. osborni, Edmontosaurus annectens and Lambeosaurus lambei (= L. clavinitialis) share a fair amount of preserved tissue on those regions.
  It was once thought that this dinosaur lived mostly in the water, due to the appearance of webbed hands and feet. However, it was later discovered that the so-called "webs" were in fact deflated padding, much like that found on many modern mammals.
caption: Abdominal skin impressions from Brown (1916)
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