Amurosaurus Facts
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 3.5m |
| Length | 8m |
| Weight | 3.5 tonnes |
| Speed | 25 km/h |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | Russia And China |

| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 3.5m |
| Length | 8m |
| Weight | 3.5 tonnes |
| Speed | 25 km/h |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | Russia And China |
Amurosaurus was a duck-billed ornithopod that roamed the forests and river plains of eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 72.2 million years ago. This impressive herbivore lived in what is now the Amur River region of Russia and northeastern China, giving it its name which means 'Amur lizard'.
Standing about 3.5 metres tall and measuring 8 metres in length, Amurosaurus was a substantial ornithopod with the characteristic features of its group. It possessed a distinctive hollow crest on its head, similar to other crested duck-billed dinosaurs, which likely served as a resonating chamber for communication. Its duck-like bill was perfectly adapted for stripping vegetation, whilst rows of grinding teeth at the back of its jaws processed tough plant material.
As a herbivore, Amurosaurus fed on a variety of Late Cretaceous plants including conifers, ferns, and flowering plants that were becoming increasingly common during this period. It could move on both two and four legs, switching between bipedal locomotion when running and quadrupedal stance when feeding on low-growing vegetation. The discovery of juvenile specimens alongside adults suggests these ornithopods may have lived in family groups.
Amurosaurus represents an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how duck-billed dinosaurs spread across Asia during the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have provided valuable insights into the diversity and evolution of crested ornithopods in eastern Asia.
Amurosaurus possessed a prominent hollow crest on its skull, which distinguished it from flat-headed duck-billed dinosaurs. Its elongated, duck-like snout was broader than many of its relatives, and it had particularly robust hind limbs that suggest it was well-adapted for running across varied terrain.
Amurosaurus likely lived in herds, as evidenced by the discovery of multiple individuals of different ages found together. The hollow crest on its head would have produced distinctive honking or trumpeting sounds for communication with other herd members across the forested landscapes of Late Cretaceous Asia.
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Ornithischia |
| Family | Hadrosauridae |
| Genus | Amurosaurus |
Amurosaurus was first described by Yuri Bolotsky and Sergei Kurzanov in 1991. The original fossils were discovered at Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, Russia.