Genus
Valid Extinct

Corythosaurus

Brown 1914
Etymology Reptile au casque corinthien

Corythosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid "duck-billed" dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, about 77–75.7 million years ago, in what is now western North America. Its name is derived from the Greek word κόρυς, meaning "helmet", named and described in 1914 by Barnum Brown. Corythosaurus is now thought to be a lambeosaurine, thus related to Lambeosaurus, Nipponosaurus, Velafrons, Hypacrosaurus, and Olorotitan. Corythosaurus has an estimated length of 7.7–9 metres (25–30 ft) and has a skull, including the crest, that is 70.8 centimetres tall.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
29
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Corythosaurus
click to enlarge
The "Dinosaurs in Their Time" exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pictures from some of my free time during the Project Zero Perspectives conference (#PZPGH) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania - May 2017. © James Tiffin Jr. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Neornithischia Unranked clade
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Pyrodontia Unranked clade
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Cerapoda Unranked clade
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Ornithopoda Suborder
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Iguanodontia Infraorder
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Euiguanodontia Unranked clade
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Dryomorpha Unranked clade
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Ankylopollexia Unranked clade
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Styracosterna Unranked clade
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Hadrosauriformes Unranked clade
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Hadrosauroidea Unranked clade
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Hadrosauridae Family
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Lambeosaurinae Subfamily
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Corythosaurini Tribe
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Corythosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
8,6 m ⓘ
Corythosaurus intermedius — min connu
9,5 m ⓘ
Corythosaurus casuarius — max connu
9 m ⓘ
Mass
3 000 kg ⓘ
Corythosaurus intermedius — min connu
4 100 kg ⓘ
Corythosaurus casuarius — max connu
3 000 kg ⓘ
Fossil sites 29 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇦 Canada
26
🇺🇸 United States
3
Geological formations
Dinosaur Park
21
Oldman
3
Judith River
2
Two Medicine
1
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
29
Species (7)
Corythosaurus bicristatus subjective synonym of Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
Corythosaurus brevicristatus subjective synonym of Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
Corythosaurus excavatus subjective synonym of Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
Corythosaurus intermedius 84 Ma
Tetragonosaurus cranibrevis subjective synonym of Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
Tetragonosaurus erectofrons subjective synonym of Corythosaurus casuarius 84 Ma
News 1
Corythosaurus: Beast of the Week
Corythosaurus: Beast of the Week
crest Canada Canardia Corythosaurus Dinosauria +6
This week we will take a look at a well known duckbill dinosaur.  Enter Corythosaurus!  Corythosaurus was a plant eater that belonged to the lambiosaurine group within the family, Hadrosauridae. (duckbills)  Lambiosaurine hadrosaurs typically had hollow crests on their heads and narrower beaks compared to other kinds hadrosaurs.  It was closely related to other lambiosaurine hadrosaurs such as Parasaurolophus, Hypacrosaurus, Lambeosaurus, and Velafrons.  It lived in what is now Alberta, Canada,
15/02/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
B. Brown. 1914. Corythosaurus casuarius, a new crested dinosaur from the Belly River Cretaceous, with provisional classification of the family Trachodontidae. 33(35):559-564
Bibliography (14)
R. Takasaki, K. Chiba, and A. R. Fiorillo, K. S. Brink, D. C. Evans, F. Fanti, M. Saneyoshi, A. Maltese, S. Ishigaki. 2022. Description of the first definitive Corythosaurus (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) specimens from the Judith River Formation in Montana, USA and their paleobiogeographical significance. The Anatomical Record DOI ↗
K. S. Brink, D. K. Zelenitsky, and D. C. Evans, J. R. Horner, F. Therrien. 2014. Cranial morphology and variation in Hypacrosaurus stebingeri (Ornithischia: Hadrosauridae). Hadrosaurs
P. J. Currie. 2005. History of research. Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Indiana University Press, Bloomington
P. J. Currie and D. A. Russell. 2005. The geographic and stratigraphic distribution of articulated and associated dinosaur remains. Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Indiana University Press, Bloomington
J. Danis. 1986. Quarries of Dinosaur Provincial Park. In B. G. Naylor (ed.), Field Trip Guidebook to Dinosaur Provincial Park, 2 June 1986. Dinosaur Systematics Symposium, Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Alberta
C. M. Sternberg. 1950. Notes and annotated list of quarries. Map 969A. Steveville, west of fourth meridian, Alberta. Canada Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa
R. S. Lull and N. E. Wright. 1942. Hadrosaurian dinosaurs of North America. Geological Society of America Special Paper 40:1-242 DOI ↗
W. A. Parks. 1935. New species of trachodont dinosaurs from the Cretaceous formations of Alberta. University of Toronto Studies, Geology Series 37:1-45
C. M. Sternberg. 1935. Hooded hadrosaurs of the Belly River Series of the Upper Cretaceous. Canada Department of Mines Bulletin (Geological Series) 77(52):1-37 DOI ↗
W. A. Parks. 1931. A new genus and two new species of trachodont dinosaurs from the Belly River Formation of Alberta. University of Toronto Studies, Geology Series 31:1-11
C. W. Gilmore. 1923. A new species of Corythosaurus with notes on other Belly River Dinosauria. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 37:46-52 DOI ↗
W. A. Parks. 1923. Corythosaurus intermedius, a new species of trachodont dinosaur. University of Toronto Studies, Geology Series 15:1-57
B. Brown. 1916. Corythosaurus casuarius: skeleton, musculature and epidermis. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 35(38):709-716
B. Brown. 1914. Corythosaurus casuarius, a new crested dinosaur from the Belly River Cretaceous, with provisional classification of the family Trachodontidae. 33(35):559-564