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EXHIBIT 151

Tsintaosaurus

Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus

Tsintaosaurus was a plant-eating hadrosaur whose distinctive crest remains a subject of reconstruction and reassessment. [6] [3]

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / SKELETAL RECONSTRUCTION

A framework from the fossils

Published 2013 reconstruction of the Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus skull and crest, showing preserved and restored parts.

The 2013 T. spinorhinus crest model; gray marks available bones and white marks hypothesized missing parts. A 2020 CT reassessment broadly supports the model but refits the solid nasal spine farther forward. The full outline remains partly restored; living colors and soft tissues are unknown. [3]

Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus.png · Albert Prieto-Márquez and Jonathan R. Wagner. CC BY 2.5. Proportionally resized Commons preview and converted to WebP; no anatomy edits.

Skeletal mounts and drawings may restore missing parts; the caption identifies the displayed material.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Illustrative reconstruction of Tsintaosaurus; colors, soft tissues and restored details remain interpretive.

Original cinematic interpretation using the tall crest scenario proposed in 2013. A 2020 CT reassessment broadly supported that concept while refitting the solid nasal spine farther forward; missing crest parts still limit the full outline. Colors, soft tissues and setting are artistic choices. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.

PERIODLate Cretaceous[2]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDShandong, China[2]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Tsintaosaurus

Tsintaosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur from Late Cretaceous China, known from skulls and a partial skeleton. The museum gives a general length reference of about twelve metres. Because no individual, growth stage or calculation method is specified, that number should not be read as a measured mature maximum. The herbivore label also does not identify a preferred plant menu. [D6]

Older pictures often showed a narrow rodlike crest. A later anatomical reconstruction interpreted the preserved nasal structure as part of a much broader crest, with missing regions filled in by comparison. The new outline is a scientific proposal based on incomplete bones, not an entire crest discovered intact. It changes the animal's silhouette while retaining uncertainty about its full shape. [D1]

Its Laiyang surroundings included rivers, lakes and floodplain deposits. Fossils from the broader region have sometimes been assigned to the wrong named dinosaur, so researchers compare skull details before making an identification. Nearby fossils and a shared rock formation are valuable context, but do not automatically prove that every specimen belonged to Tsintaosaurus or that all the animals lived together. [D5]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

The 2013 crest model replaced a narrow rod with a broader structure. A 2020 CT reassessment supported its broad concept while refitting the solid nasal spine farther forward. [D1] [D3]

Profile scope: T. spinorhinus from Laiyang: incomplete cranial specimens and a composite skeleton, with revised nasal-spine fit and partly restored crest anatomy. [D3]

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Shandong, China
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Length

Inferred

About 12 m; museum reference

Educational estimate without specified specimen, life stage or method; excluded from adult comparison. [D6]

Body mass

Inferred

About 2.5 t; published reconstruction

Paul lists a V725-labelled model. Composite material, collection-label inconsistency and unconfirmed maturity prevent an adult-individual comparison. [D7]

Diet

Source supported

Plant eater

Museum classification supports herbivory; a genus-specific menu or preserved meal is not established here. [D6]

Habitat

Source supported

Laiyang, Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group

Fossils occur in the Jingangkou/Hongtuya succession; regional deposits record rivers, lakes and floodplain mudflows. [D5]

Locomotion

Inferred

Probably mainly four-legged

Comparative hadrosaur skeletal correlates favor quadrupedality. This does not establish Tsintaosaurus-specific speeds or a trackway. [D8]

Distinctive anatomy

Inferred

Solid nasal spine within a restored crest

The 2020 CT study identifies solid nasal bone and a more forward fracture fit. It broadly supports the 2013 model but disputes its backward inclination; missing premaxillary parts limit the complete outline. [D3]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and nesting

Not established

Not established here

Laiyang preserves many egg types, but this regional egg fauna is not a demonstrated Tsintaosaurus nest or clutch. [D2]

Courtship and mating

Not established

Not established here

The 2013 study suggests high crests could signal maturity in lambeosaurines. That comparative hypothesis does not demonstrate Tsintaosaurus courtship, sex differences or mate choice. [D1]

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

Disarticulated and composite Laiyang material does not by itself establish a Tsintaosaurus herd or family group. [D2]

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. The ‘Unicorn’ Dinosaur That Wasn’t: A New Reconstruction of the Crest of Tsintaosaurus and the Early Evolution of the Lambeosaurine Crest and RostrumPLOS ONE; Prieto-Márquez and Wagner (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full article and crest-model figures inspected. IVPP V723, V725, V829 and K107; available bones distinguished from hypothesized missing premaxillary/crest parts. · Inspected: page
  2. Review of historical and current research on the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs from Laiyang, ShandongVertebrata Palasiatica; Zhang and colleagues (2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full institutional PDF and abstract inspected. CT of IVPP V725 questions fracture fit and crest association; genus remains valid. Composite skeleton and diverse regional egg fauna do not supply secure genus-specific nesting. · Inspected: page
  3. Internal morphology of nasal spine of Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus (Ornithischia: Lambeosaurinae) from the upper cretaceous of Shandong, ChinaHistorical Biology; Zhang, Wang, Jiang and Li (published online 19 March 2020), author-institution published PDF · Accessed 2026-10-02Original nine-page PDF inspected: IVPP V725 nasal CT and V818 skull comparison, solid nasal sandwich structure, forward fracture refit, rejection of skull-roof-driven posterior inclination, broad consistency with the 2013 crest model and missing premaxillary limits. Suggested fontanelle growth differences do not establish reproductive maturity. · Inspected: page
  4. Postcranial osteology of the basally branching hadrosauroid dinosaur Tanius sinensis from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Shandong, ChinaJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Borinder and colleagues (2021) · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional original abstract inspected. Anecdotal Tsintaosaurus-to-Tanius and Bactrosaurus prynadai-to-Tanius assignments cannot be substantiated; T. chingkankouensis dubious composite and T. laiyangensis indeterminate hadrosaurid. · Inspected: abstract
  5. Osteological Re-Assessment and Taxonomic Revision of Tanius laiyangensis (Ornithischia: Hadrosauroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, ChinaThe Anatomical Record; Zhang and colleagues (2020) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original abstract, introduction and figure caption inspected. BMNH PH00181 assigned to Kritosaurini indet.; older Tsintaosaurus synonym proposal not accepted. Hongtuya/Wangshi regional depositional context. · Inspected: excerpt
  6. TsintaosaurusNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Museum indexed profile inspected: 12 m educational length reference, herbivory and China; specimen, maturity and method unspecified. · Inspected: excerpt
  7. Mass estimates: supplementary appendix to The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, second editionPrinceton University Press; Paul (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original methods and Tsintaosaurus row inspected: 2530 kg model labelled PMNH V725. That collection label differs from the original IVPP V725; table does not establish a single associated mature skeleton. · Inspected: page
  8. Osteological correlates for quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaursActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Maidment and Barrett (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full paper inspected, especially pp 67-68: probably predominant quadrupedality in hadrosaurids and Bactrosaurus; Equijubus has only one codable correlate. Comparative inference, not genus-identified tracks. · Inspected: page

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Meet Tsintaosaurus

The 2013 reconstruction interprets the nasal structure as part of a much larger crest, with a separate route for the air passage. Restored portions are hypotheses, not additional recovered bones. [1]

Later CT work distinguishes solid nasal bone from hypothetical crest passages. Its revised fracture fit leans the nasal spine farther forward, while missing premaxillary anatomy leaves the full crest shape partly restored. [3]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. The ‘Unicorn’ Dinosaur That Wasn’t: A New Reconstruction of the Crest of Tsintaosaurus and the Early Evolution of the Lambeosaurine Crest and RostrumPLOS ONE; Prieto-Márquez and Wagner (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full article and crest-model figures inspected. IVPP V723, V725, V829 and K107; available bones distinguished from hypothesized missing premaxillary/crest parts. · Inspected: page
  2. Review of historical and current research on the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs from Laiyang, ShandongVertebrata Palasiatica; Zhang and colleagues (2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full institutional PDF and abstract inspected. CT of IVPP V725 questions fracture fit and crest association; genus remains valid. Composite skeleton and diverse regional egg fauna do not supply secure genus-specific nesting. · Inspected: page
  3. Internal morphology of nasal spine of Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus (Ornithischia: Lambeosaurinae) from the upper cretaceous of Shandong, ChinaHistorical Biology; Zhang, Wang, Jiang and Li (published online 19 March 2020), author-institution published PDF · Accessed 2026-10-02Original nine-page PDF inspected: IVPP V725 nasal CT and V818 skull comparison, solid nasal sandwich structure, forward fracture refit, rejection of skull-roof-driven posterior inclination, broad consistency with the 2013 crest model and missing premaxillary limits. Suggested fontanelle growth differences do not establish reproductive maturity. · Inspected: page
  4. Postcranial osteology of the basally branching hadrosauroid dinosaur Tanius sinensis from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Shandong, ChinaJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Borinder and colleagues (2021) · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional original abstract inspected. Anecdotal Tsintaosaurus-to-Tanius and Bactrosaurus prynadai-to-Tanius assignments cannot be substantiated; T. chingkankouensis dubious composite and T. laiyangensis indeterminate hadrosaurid. · Inspected: abstract
  5. Osteological Re-Assessment and Taxonomic Revision of Tanius laiyangensis (Ornithischia: Hadrosauroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, ChinaThe Anatomical Record; Zhang and colleagues (2020) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original abstract, introduction and figure caption inspected. BMNH PH00181 assigned to Kritosaurini indet.; older Tsintaosaurus synonym proposal not accepted. Hongtuya/Wangshi regional depositional context. · Inspected: excerpt
  6. TsintaosaurusNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Museum indexed profile inspected: 12 m educational length reference, herbivory and China; specimen, maturity and method unspecified. · Inspected: excerpt
  7. Mass estimates: supplementary appendix to The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, second editionPrinceton University Press; Paul (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original methods and Tsintaosaurus row inspected: 2530 kg model labelled PMNH V725. That collection label differs from the original IVPP V725; table does not establish a single associated mature skeleton. · Inspected: page
  8. Osteological correlates for quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaursActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Maidment and Barrett (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full paper inspected, especially pp 67-68: probably predominant quadrupedality in hadrosaurids and Bactrosaurus; Equijubus has only one codable correlate. Comparative inference, not genus-identified tracks. · Inspected: page

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