Lambeosaurus was a crested, duck-billed dinosaur. Its forward-leaning, hollow, bony crest was as big or bigger than the rest of its skull and may have been used to produce sounds, enhance its sense of smell, and/or used in courtship displays. These types of dinosaurs were of the same hadrosaur type as some of the other types who lived near water. Scientists think it lived around North America around 76-75 million years ago. This bipedal/quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur is known for its distinctive hollow cranial crest, which in the best-known species resembled a hatchet. Several possible species have been named, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico, but only the two Canadian species are currently recognized as valid.
Lambeosaurus was belatedly described in 1923 by William Parks, over twenty years after the first material was studied by Lawrence Lambe. The genus has had a complicated taxonomic history, in part because small-bodied crested hadrosaurids now recognized as juveniles were once thought to belong to their own genera and species. Currently, the various skulls assigned to the type species L. lambei are interpreted as showing age differences and sexual dimorphism. Lambeosaurus was closely related to the better known Corythosaurus, which is found in slightly older rocks, as well as the less well-known genera Hypacrosaurus and Olorotitan. All had unusual crests, which are now generally assumed to have served social functions like noisemaking and recognition.
Description[]
Life restoration of L. lambei
Lambeosaurus, best known through L. lambei, was quite similar to the more well-known Corythosaurus in everything but the form of the head frill. Compared to Corythosaurus, the crest of Lambeosaurus was shifted forward, and the hollow nasal passages were at the front of the crest and stacked vertically.[1] It also can be told apart from Corythosaurus by its lack of forking nasal processes making up part of the sides of the crest, which is the only way to tell juveniles of the two genera apart: the crests took on their unique forms as the animals aged.[2]
In build, Lambeosaurus was like most hadrosaurids, and could move on both two legs and all fours, as shown by footprints of related animals. It had a long, stiff tail that kept it from drooping. The hands had four fingers, lacking the innermost finger of the generalized five-fingered tetrapod hand, while the second, third, and fourth fingers were bunched together and bore hooves, suggesting the animal could use the hands for support. The fifth finger was free and could be used to manipulate objects. Each foot had just the three central toes.[3]
The most unique feature, the crest, was different in the two well-known species. In L. lambei, it was taller, narrower, more rectangular, and had a secondary point raising backwards and was a bit shorter and more rounded in females.[1] In L. magnicristatus, the crest was more rounded with no secondary point, but was strikingly big and pointed a bit forwards.[4][5] In the lesser-known species "L." laticaudus and L. paucidens the crest is not yet known, but "L." laticaudus can be known by its great size and the tall form of its tail.[3] The "hatchet blade" projected in front of the eyes, and the "handle" was a solid bony rod that jutted out over the back of the skull. The "hatchet blade" had two sections: the uppermost portion was a thin bony "coxcomb" that grew out relatively late in life, when an individual neared adulthood; and the lower portion held hollow spaces that were continuations of the nasal passages. In L. magnicristatus, the "handle" was greatly reduced, and the "blade" expanded, forming a tall, exaggerated pompadour-like crest. This crest is damaged in the best overall specimen, and only the front half remains.
The Canadian species of Lambeosaurus appear to have been similar in size to Corythosaurus, and thus around 9.4 m long (31 ft). Impressions of the scales are known for several specimens; a specimen now assigned to L. lambei had a thin skin with uniform, polygonal scutes distributed in no particular order on the neck, torso, and tail. Similar scalation is known from the neck, forelimb, and foot of a specimen of L. magnicristatus.
Lambeosaurus grew to be about 30–50 feet long (9–15 m), weighing 5.6 tons. It is the largest-known duck-bill dinosaur
Classification[]
A life restoration of head and neck of tall-crested L. magnicristatus
Specimen of related genus Corythosaurus
Lambeosaurus is the type genus of the Lambeosaurinae, the subfamily of hadrosaurids that had hollow skull crests. Among the lambeosaurines, it is closely related to Corythosaurus and Hypacrosaurus, with little separating them but crest form.[3] The relationships among these dinosaur genera are hard to pick out. Internet classifications sometimes include all three in the tribe Lambeosaurini, but such a tribe has not been formally defined. Instead, the equivalent clade Corythosaurini has been adopted in publications, including David Evans and Robert Reisz's redescription of L. magnicristatus. This examination indicated that Lambeosaurus is the sister taxon to a clade made up of Corythosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, and the Russian genus Olorotitan; these lambeosaurines, with Nipponosaurus, make up Corythosaurini.[3] However, later researchers pointed out that due to the rules of priority set forth by the ICZN, any tribe containing Lambeosaurus is properly named Lambeosaurini, and that therefore the name "Corythosaurini" is a junior synonym. The following cladogram illustrating the relationships of Lambeosaurus and its close relatives was recovered in a 2012 phylogenetic analysis by Albert Prieto-Márquez, Luis M. Chiappe and Shantanu H. Joshi.
| Lambeosaurini |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discovery[]
_(20731846326).jpg){kind=link}
L. lambei skull being excavated in Alberta, Canada
Lambeosaurus was named by Dr. William A. Parks in 1923 to honor Lawrence Lambe (1902), an early Canadian fossil hunter. Many fossils have been found in North America, including Montana (USA), Baja California (Mexico), and Alberta (Canada). He named GSC 419, a limb, as Trachodon marginatus and GSC 1092, a left upper jaw, as Trachodon altidens. In the same volume, Henry Fairfield Osborn termed the latter as a new genus he coined as "Didanodon" without discussion. In the same areas in the 1910s, better remains were found and Lambe assigned 2 new skulls to the former species, coining Stephanosaurus as a new genus to house the species in 1914. Since remains were scrappy and the skulls were tentatively assigned to them, William Parks (1923) coined L. lambei to house GSC 2869 (now NMC 2869) as the holotype and was after Lambe, who had died 4 years previous. The same paper coined Lambeosaurinae as a replacement for Stephanosaurinae. Some species were named based on individual variation, age, sex or taphonomical circumstances. These are T. cranibrevis, named from GSC-870f (now NMC-8705), a partial skeleton and skull, now seen as invalid; L. magnicristatum (corrected to L. magnicristatus in 1937) based on a smaller skull GSC-8705 (now NMC-8705); and L. clavinitialis, based on a smaller crest and reduced spine projecting from its back, which has been doubted. Corythosaurus frontalis was recombined by Parks (based on GSC 5853; now ROM 869) as a specimen of Lambeosaurus. Ostrom (1964), after a long abscence of any new material description, noted that Marchs USNM 5457, which he named Hadrosaurus paucidens, was likely a specimen of Lambeosaurus.
Profiles of various specimens, once assigned to their own species, now interpreted as different growth stages and sexes of L. lambei
Peter Dodson (1975) examined why so many lambeosaurines are known from such a short interval and area, doing a morphometric study where many skulls were examined, finding many invalid species and genera. Dodson found L. clavinitialis may be a female L. lambei, with Corythosaurus frontalis and Procheneosaurus preceps likely being juveniles. L. magnicristatus was found to be distinct. The other two Procheneosaurus species were found to be juvenile corythosaur. This would be widely accepted, and L. lambei is known from at least 17 individuals (7 skulls and postcrania and 10 skulls), L. clavinitialis is still regarded by most as synonymous, but others suggest separation. Some have suggested that L. clavinitialis skulls without a spine on the crest are L. magnicristatus, but a 2007 redescription of L. magnicristatus rejects this. L. magnicristatus was named by Sternberg (1935) based on 2 skulls, with most of the articulat skeleton preserved with the type specimen being lost and most of the specimen was bears water damage during storage and discarded in description. Other skeleal elements of this species were lost. It is slightly younger than L. lambei and its name means "large-crested". A lambeosaurine jaw from the Bearpaw Formation described by Jack Horner may be an L. magnicristatus, being the first lambeosaur from marine rocks. More Lambeosaurus remains were later documented from the Bearpaw, of all species. Bill Morrus (1970s) named L.? laticaudus (uncertain because the type, LACM 17715, lacked a crest) as an aquatic species based on its collection data and its tall, narrow tail and its small size as a possible marine adaptation. In 2012, it was moved into a new genus called Magnapaulia.
Paleobiology[]
Many have suggested uses for the crest, such as holding salt glands, improving smell, as a snorkel, species recognition and as a resonating chamber. Social functions and resonating are most commonly accepted. The sclerotic rings and large orbits suggest it was diurnal with improved sight. It likely had good hearing. Relatives have a well developed auditory portion. Individuals of different age or sex would have made distinguished sounds because the internal layout was different.
Feeding[]
Skull of an adult, AMNH
As a hadrosaurid, Lambeosaurus was a large bipedal/quadrupedal herbivore, eating plants with an advanced skull that let it grind like mammals chew. Its teeth were replaced all the time and were packed into dental batteries that each had more than 100 teeth, a few of which were in use at a time. It used its beak to crop plants, which were hel in the jaws by a cheek-like organ. It would have fed from the ground up to around 13 ft above.[3] As noted by Bob Bakker, lambeosaurines have narrower beaks than hadrosaurines, meaning that Lambeosaurus and its relatives could feed on what they liked.[6]
Cranial crest[]
Skull of a juvenile with a small crest
Like other lambeosaurines such as Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, Lambeosaurus had a unique crest on the top of its head. Its nasal cavity ran back through this crest, which made it mostly hollow. Many suggestions have been made for the function or functions of the crest, like to house salt glands, boost the sense of smell, use as a snorkel or air trap, make sounds, or to recognize one another.[7][8] Social functions such as noisemaking and recognition have become the most widely accepted of the various hypotheses.[3]
The large size of hadrosaurid eye sockets mean it had good sight and, proof that sight was important to these animals. The hadrosaurid sense of hearing seems to be strong to. There is at least one example, in the related Corythosaurus, of a slim ear bone in place, which mixed with a large space for an eardrum implies a sensitive middle ear. This means that the hearing part of the inner ear was well-developed.[7] If used to make noise, the crest could also have been different between species or sexes, because the differing layouts of the nasal passages corresponding to the different crest shapes would have made naturally different sounds.[9]
Notable Specimens[]
- "George" or "Walking Lambeosaurus": Discovered in 1913 by Charles Sternberg and his sons from Red Deer Valley, Alberta, George was brought to the National Museum of Canada and permanently loaned to to the Pacific Museum of the Earth at the University of British Columbia since 1950. Dr. F.J. Alcock authorized this transaction. Since then, George has been on display. Most of the postcrania belong to a male but the head is of a similarly-sized female. One of the toes was restored.
- "Maggie": A juvenile L. lambei skull.
- Badlands Dinosaur Museum coll.: A skull, representing the oldest Lambeosaurus, and the only specimen from the United States. It was discovered by Denver Fowler in July 2021[10].
Paleoecology[]
Megafaunal dinosaurs of the Dinosaur Park Formation, L. lambei second from left
Life restoration of L. magnicristatus being chased by Gorgosaurus
L. lambei and L. magnicristatus are both known from the Dinosaur Park Formation and are differentiated by stratigraphy. This formation carries a large fauna with other hadrosaurs Prosaurolophus, Gryposaurus, Corythosaurus and Parasaurolophus, ceratopsians Centrosaurus, Styracosaurus and Chasmosaurus, tyrannosaurids Gorgosaurus, and ankylosaurs Edmontonia and Euoplocephalus. The Dinosaur Park Formation is interpreted as a plain with rivers and alluvial terrain that became a swamp and was influenced by the nearby Niobraran Sea that transgressed the western portion. The climate here was warmer than Alberta is today, had no frost and had wet and dry seasons. Conifers were canopy plants and ferns, tree ferns and angiosperms formed the undergrowth. The anatomical similarities of L. lambei , L. magnicristatus and Corythosaurus were separated by time in the same formation, based on stratigraphy. Fossils of Corythosaurus are present in the lowest two thirds of the formation, L. lambei is known from the upper third and L. magnicristatus are at the very top of the formation, where it was rarer and it is more marine.
JPInstitute.com Description[]
Lambeosaurus was a large duck-billed, plant-eating hadrosaur that grew a little bigger than most of the meat-eaters of its time. It walked on all four legs much of the time, but it could also stand easily on its hind legs, as they were much larger than its front legs. Like other members of its family, it had a lot of teeth packed into its cheeks - some had over 1,000! It also had a distinctive crest on top of its head that pointed forward and seems to have varied by animal.
Hadrosaurs were among the most common herbivores of the late Cretaceous. Like other hadrosaurs, it had a beak that was covered with a horny sheath. Lambeosaurus was found as early as 1889, but was not recognized until 1924 as a separate genus. All species had a distinctive, hollow hatchet shaped crest - L. lambei also had a short spike that projected back from the crest.
Appearance in other media[]
Jurassic Park[]
- It appears in Jurassic Park the background of a conceptual art of the first Jurassic Park Film.
 |
Read more Lambeosaurus on Jurassic Park Wiki |
The Land Before Time[]
- A bunch of Lambeosaurus appeared in The Land Before Time Movies From The Land Before Time 6 to The Land Before Time 14. They even appeared in most episodes of the TV Series The Land Before Time.
 |
Read more Lambeosaurus on Land Before Time Wiki |
Links[]
References[]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambeosaurus
- https://twitter.com/DavidEvans_ROM/status/1471868541053947907/photo/1
- https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=53394
- https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayStrata?geological_group=&formation=Bearpaw&group_formation_member=Bearpaw
- https://gizmodo.com/the-story-of-george-1573889760
- https://pme.ubc.ca/george-the-lambeosaur/
- https://archive.org/details/g.s.paul2016theprincetonfieldguidetodinosaurs/page/n258/mode/1up
Template:References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dodson, Peter (1975). "Taxonomic implications of relative growth in lambeosaurine dinosaurs". Systematic Zoology 24 (1): 37–54. doi:10.2307/2412696. JSTOR 2412696.
- ↑ Evans, David C.; Forster, Catherine F.; and Reisz, Robert R. (2005). "The type specimen of Tetragonosaurus erectofrons (Ornithischia: Hadrosauridae) and the identification of juvenile lambeosaurines". In Currie, Phillip J., and Koppelhus, Eva. Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 349–366. ISBN 0-253-34595-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Horner, John R.; Weishampel, David B.; and Forster, Catherine A (2004). "Hadrosauridae". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 438–463. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
- ↑ Lull, Richard Swann; and Wright, Nelda E. (1942). Hadrosaurian Dinosaurs of North America. Geological Society of America Special Paper 40. Geological Society of America. pp. 193–194.
- ↑ Evans, David C.; and Reisz, Robert R. (2007). "Anatomy and relationships of Lambeosaurus magnicristatus, a crested hadrosaurid dinosaur (Ornithischia) from the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (2): 373–393. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[373:AAROLM]2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Bakker, Robert T. (1986). The Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of the Dinosaurs and their Extinction New York: William Morrow. p. 194. ISBN 0-8217-2859-8.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hopson, James A. (1975). "The evolution of cranial display structures in hadrosaurian dinosaurs". Paleobiology 1 (1): 21–43. JSTOR 2400327.
- ↑ Norman, David B. (1985). "Hadrosaurids II". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: An Original and Compelling Insight into Life in the Dinosaur Kingdom. New York: Crescent Books. pp. 122–127. ISBN 0-517-46890-5.
- ↑ Weishampel, David B. (1981). "Acoustic analyses of potential vocalization in lambeosaurine dinosaurs (Reptilia: Ornithischia)". Paleobiology 7 (2): 252–261.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/df9465/status/1484370313928318983/photo/1