Rhinorex Facts
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 2.5m |
| Length | 8m |
| Weight | 3 tonnes |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | North America |

| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 2.5m |
| Length | 8m |
| Weight | 3 tonnes |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | North America |
Rhinorex was a remarkable ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 83.6 million years ago. This impressive creature inhabited the coastal plains and estuarine environments of what is now central Utah, where its fossils were discovered in the Neslen Formation. The name Rhinorex, meaning 'King Nose', perfectly captures its most distinctive feature - an enormous, prominent nasal crest that dominated its skull.
Measuring around 8 metres in length and standing about 2.5 metres tall at the hip, Rhinorex was a substantial herbivore that would have been an imposing sight in its ancient ecosystem. Its massive nasal structure, larger proportionally than any other known duck-billed dinosaur, likely served multiple purposes including display, communication, and possibly enhanced sense of smell. The creature's skull shows it belonged to the kritosaurin group of hadrosaurs, distinguished by their elaborate nasal ornaments.
As a herbivore, Rhinorex possessed the typical duck-billed dinosaur feeding apparatus, including hundreds of small teeth arranged in dental batteries perfect for grinding tough plant material. It could move both on two legs and four, giving it flexibility when feeding on vegetation at different heights. The estuarine sediments where it was found suggest Rhinorex lived in a warm, humid environment with abundant plant life near ancient coastlines.
Rhinorex possessed an extraordinarily large nasal crest that was proportionally bigger than any other known hadrosaur, giving it a distinctive hook-nosed appearance. Its skull featured a prominent bump above the nostrils that likely supported this massive soft-tissue nose structure.
Rhinorex likely lived in herds like other hadrosaurs, using its massive nasal structure for visual and possibly acoustic communication with other members of its species. The enlarged nose may have enhanced its ability to detect food sources and potential predators in its estuarine habitat.
Rhinorex was first described by Terry Gates in 2014. The original fossils were discovered at Neslen Formation, Utah, USA.