Newly Discovered Dinosaur Had a Huge Shnoz

A newly discovered dinosaur once boasted a very impressive shnoz, but scientists are still trying to figure out the purpose of this distinctive nasal profile, according to a new study.

Named Rhinorex condrupus, meaning "King Nose," this hadrosaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period some 75 million years ago in what is now present-day Utah. This herbivore is closely related to other known hadrosaurs like Parasaurolophus and Edmontosaurus, species that are known for their bony crests extending down from the skull. But Rhinorex, dscribed in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, is unique in that instead of the typical bony crest, it shows off a rather huge nose.

Rhinorex was first unearthed in the 1990s from Utah's Neslen formation, later to be studied for its well-preserved skin impressions and then stored at Brigham Young University (BYU). When researchers Terry Gates, a joint postdoctoral researcher with North Carolina State, and colleague Rodney Sheetz from BYU, brought the fossil out of hiding to reconstruct its skull, they realized they had in their hands a new species.

"We had almost the entire skull, which was wonderful," Gates said in a statement, "but the preparation was very difficult. It took two years to dig the fossil out of the sandstone it was embedded in - it was like digging a dinosaur skull out of a concrete driveway."

Based on the remains, the researchers estimate that Rhinorex was about 30 feet long and weighed over 8,500 pounds. This plant-eater, living in a swampy estuarial environment located some 50 miles from the coast, is not only fascinating but it also helping paleontologists fill in the gaps about the hadrosaur family tree.

"We've found other hadrosaurs from the same time period but located about 200 miles farther south that are adapted to a different environment," Gates said. "This discovery gives us a geographic snapshot of the Cretaceous, and helps us place contemporary species in their correct time and place."

While Rhinorex is helping to solve the mystery of hadrosaurs, it has yet to reveal the mystery behind its large shnoz. Despite the obvious assumption that such a large nose would mean Rhinorex had a super sense of smell, researchers say that it, like other dinosaurs during that time, probably wasn't a great smeller. Instead, the nose could have been used to attract mates, recognize other members of its species, or as a beak to smash plants.