Lambeosaurus: Dinosaur of the Day

Lambeosaurus: Dinosaur of the Day

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Lambeosaurus

Hadrosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now North America
Name means “Lambe’s lizard” (named in honor of Lawrence Lambe)
Described in 1923 by William Parks
But Lawrence Lambe spent 20 years studying the first material
Multiple species have been named (from Alberta, Canada, Montana, U.S., and Baja California, Mexico) but only two Canadian species are considered valid
A number of fossils that were originally classified as other dinosaurs have now been determined to be Lambeosaurus
Now there are two valid species: Lambeosaurus lambei (type species) and Lambeosaurus magnicristatus
Lambeosaurus lambei and Lambeosaurus magnicristatus were from the Dinosaur Park Formation (though they lived at slightly different times)
Part of the family Lambeosaurine, the subfamily of hadrosaurids with hollow crests
Closely related to Corythosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Olorotitan (all very similar but have slightly different crests)
Lambeosaurus crest was shifted forward, and hollow nasal passages were in the front of the crest and stacked vertically
Crest was different in each species of Lambeosaurus
Lambeosaurus lambei had a crest that was hatchet-like in shape in adults, and shorted and more rounded in specimens thought to be females
The “hatchet blade” is in front of the eyes, and had two sections (an upper portion, of a thin bony “coxcomb” that developed right before adulthood, and a lower portion that had hollow spaces that were part of the nasal passages). Also had a “handle” that was a solid bony rod that went over the back of the skull
In Lambeosaurus magnicristatus, the “handle” was smaller and the “blade” was larger (though this crest is damaged in the most complete specimen, and only the front half is left)
Lambeosaurus was both bipedal and quadrupedal
Had four digits on each hand, and the second, third, and fourth digits were together and bore hooves (so could go on all fours for support)
Last digit on the hand was free, and could be used to help with grip or balance
Had three digits on each foot
Because it was both bipedal and quadrupedal, Lambeosaurus could eat low to moderately high growing vegetation
Lambeosaurus had a narrow front of the mouth, which may mean it was a picky eater
Had batteries at the back of the mouth with over 100 teeth to grind plant matter
About 31 ft (9.4 m) long
Some scale impressions have been found
Found polygonal scutes on the neck torso and tail (on Lambeosaurus lambei) and on the neck, forelimb, and foot (on Lambeosaurus magnicristatus)
Had a long, stiff tail, with ossified tendons
Had large eye sockets and sclerotic rings, which means it probably had good vision and was diurnal
Also had a strong sense of hearing (based on Corythosaurus, a close relative, having a slendar stapes (reptilian ear bone) and large space for an eardrum

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