Edmontosaurus annectens

Length: 40 feet
Height: 14 feet
Weight: 5 tons

## **Coloration:**

*Male –* Brown body and pale underbelly, with intermediate
 purple blotching on its snout. During the breeding season, the male's
 snout turns a deep red.

*Female –* Like the male, only lacking in the purple blotching.

*Juvenile (both sexes) –* Very light brown that gets darker through to adulthood.

## **Diet:**

Plants. Edmontosaurus will grab large mouthfuls of
multiple types of plant life with its wide beak to be chewed to a pulp
with its batteries of grinding teeth.

## **Social Structure:**

Edmontosaurus is almost always seen in large
 herds and is rarely seen alone. There is usually no clear leader as
they stick together and move in accordance to common instincts, however
 it is only natural that the larger individuals dominate over the
smaller ones. Edmontosaurus may form mixed herds with Corythosaurus and
 Parasaurolophus.

## **Description:**

Large, heavy bodied, quadrupedal herbivore.
Edmontosaurus is the largest species of hadrosaur on Isla Sorna. Unlike
 Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, Edmontosaurus does not have a crest.
 Instead it amplifies its calls with inflatable sacs on its snout
region. Like its relatives, Edmontosaurus is capable of walking on all
fours and running on its hind legs.

## **Behaviors:**

Edmontosaurus is a naturally peaceful animal, and
while seemingly defenseless, its large size means that even a single
adult is capable of trampling to death smaller predators such as
Velociraptor. When they stampede en masse, even a Tyrannosaur would be
wise to get out of their way. Being the principle prey of large,
big-game hunters such as Tyrannosaurus, Edmontosaurus senses are very
sharp, and they are constantly on the alert for danger. Edmontosaurus
prefers to flee as its primary defense, running up to 35 mph on its hind
 legs. However, if cornered it will attempt to fight back by swiping
with its thick tail, biting with its beak, or rising up on its hind legs
 to try and pound the threat to the ground.

During the breeding season, Edmontosaurus males put on a very unique
show for the females. Unusually, the male Edmontosaurus form alliances
with other males to form courtship displays. Bands of males ranging from
 2 to 5 will move to the outer edges of the main herd and perform a
synchronized ‘dance’ - alternating between standing on their hind legs
and all fours, strutting, swaying their tails, amplifying the sacs on
their snouts and emitting loud, drawn-out honks. The largest, strongest
 bull is considered the ringleader of his band and he alone will mate
with any female drawn to the display. The smaller males in the band will
 not mate with any of the females unless tragedy befalls the ringleader
 – at which point the next biggest male takes on his position. Fights
between Edmontosaurus males are rare, as they tend to be careful enough
 to organize themselves into bands in which there is only one bull who
is stronger than the rest.

Attentive parents, Edmontosaurus nest in colonies, often alongside
Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus. The nests at the center of the colony
 are usually the better protected, while the nests on the outside are
prone to being raided by egg thieves. In order to try and combat this,
the hadrosaurs also build several unprotected "dummy" nests in which
they lay several unfertilized eggs. These nests are usually situated
quite far away from the main nests and provide some distraction to
egg-thieves, allowing the hadrosaurs to tend to their own young without
 being constantly pestered.

The hadrosaur nest itself is an open-topped mound constructed from
mud, covered with leaves and foliage. The females never leave their
nests, and therefore rely on the males to bring them a constant supply
of food. A single male may have sired many eggs from different nests,
and it is the duty of all the males to provide food and nesting
materials to any female in need. When the eggs hatch, the males are also
 responsible for bringing chewed-up plant material to feed the young.

Owing to the hadrosaurs’ dedication to their offspring, it is
virtually impossible to separate a mother from its nest. Small
nest-raiders are shooed away by a bellow or a warning snap of the beak,
 but even when faced with a larger predator, the females are still
unlikely to budge from their nests. Usually the males will provide the
distraction, forming a wall of bodies and sound in order to try and
intimidate the predator. The powerfully-muscled tail of a full-grown
Edmontosaurus is a formidable weapon against medium-sized predators,
strong enough to stagger even an Allosaurus-sized animal and kill most
smaller creatures. In the event a nesting female is killed, a male may
take up the role of guarding the orphaned nestlings, regardless as to
whether he is the father or not.
 After leaving the nest, juvenile hadrosaurs are quickly able to travel
 with the rest of the herd. They are dissuaded from wandering too far
from the safety of the herd by the adults, who call out frequently to
keep the young together. Even in a large family herd, the young can
recognize their own parents by the pitch of their calls, and vice versa.
 Juveniles whose mothers have died still have a good chance of
survival, for as long as they can move about with the herd they are
kept safe and protected by all of the adults.

Despite its lack of an impressive crest akin to its relatives,
Edmontosaurus is nonetheless just as vocal, producing loud, nasal
bellows used both for communication, keeping the herd together, and to
warn others of approaching danger.