Ligocristus

The most numerous large herbivores on Skull Island, Ligocristus congregates in herds numbering several dozen individuals. Ligocristus are hadrosaur ornithischians, with broad, three-toed feet and distinctive wide, duck-like snouts. With no other defenses, safety is found in numbers, where many eyes improve the chances of predators being spotted. Being strong swimmers, Ligocristus are also among the only native herbivores that will readily take to the water to escape land-based threats. Nonetheless, they are the staple prey species for many different predatory creatures from V. rexes to Venatosaurus to Piranhadon to Foetodon and phorusrhacid species like Brutornis and Zeropteryx.

Mottled markings camouflage the Ligocristus when in the dappled light of the forest or the deeper jungle. In the open their patterning helps break up their outlines. Being more shore-footed and agile than the great lumbering sauropods, Ligocristus are able to move with greater ease through the many different vegetation zones on the island, granting them access to a wide range of food sources. All-purpose feeders, they eat a variety of vegetation: grasses, leaves, water weeds, roots, and even bark. They can browse at heights of up to 25 feet.

Ligocristus are highly vocal animals (typical for lambeosaurines). The valleys echo constantly with their trumpet-like vocalizations as they call to one another to maintain herd cohesiveness while moving through the dense and obscuring jungle, and to reassure one another of safety when feeding in the open. Their vocabulary is surprisingly large, with a range of calls for different purposes. Soft rumbles made while eating signal the availability of different foods to each other and complex grunts are used to communicate social messages of dominance and mood between individuals.