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Lambeosaurus

Parks, 1923 LAM-bee-uh-SOR-uhs /ˌlæmbiəˈsɔːrəs/

Named for Canadian paleontologist Lawrence M. Lambe, with the Greek suffix '-saurus' meaning 'lizard'.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Lambeosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period of western North America. The first skull of Lambeosaurus found was used by paleontologist Lawrence M. Lambe to justify the creation of the new genus Stephanosaurus, although it was not part of the latter's original material. Its incomplete nature led William A. Parks to name Lambeosaurus lambei for this skull in 1923 to honor Lambe. Multiple species of Lambeosaurus have been named since, including L. clavinitialis and L. magnicristatus in 1935, and L. laticaudus in 1981 which was later moved to its own genus Magnapaulia. It has also been identified that some species earlier identified as belonging to Tetragonosaurus and Corythosaurus are now considered juveniles of Lambeosaurus. It is the eponymous member of the subfamily Lambeosaurinae and tribe Lambeosaurini. Lambeosaurins, which also includes Corythosaurus and Hypacrosaurus from western North America, are understood to be some of the most specialized ornithopods.

Diagnosis

  1. Skull comparatively short with a high, narrow crest bearing a long, narrow posterior prolongation that overhangs the occiput, both crest and prolongation formed by the premaxillae and nasals
  2. Highest point of the crest situated in front of the orbit, with the premaxillae extending to its extreme posterior tip
  3. Narrow beak with open nares
  4. Maxilla very short between the anterior jugal articulation and the infraorbital foramen, bearing 38-39 vertical tooth rows
  5. Greatly reduced lacrimal and a relatively short quadrate
  6. Mandible strongly decurved anteriorly, the dentary with 40-41 vertical tooth rows; teeth long and narrow with papillate margins

Species (2)

Lambeosaurus lambei Parks, 1923

Type species

Named for Lawrence Morris Lambe, a Canadian paleontologist who described numerous Cretaceous dinosaurs from Alberta in the early twentieth century.

Holotype
CMN 2869 , Canadian Museum of Nature
Material
A fairly complete skull and right mandibular ramus.
Horizon
Dinosaur Park Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
4 miles southwest of the mouth of Little Sandhill Creek, Alberta, Canada

Lambeosaurus magnicristatus Sternberg, 1935

From Latin 'magnus' ('large') and 'cristatus' ('crested'), referring to its greatly enlarged cranial crest.

Holotype
CMN 8705 , Canadian Museum of Nature
Material
Originally a near-complete articulated skull and postcranial skeleton; most postcranial elements were later damaged by water and discarded, leaving only the skull and right ilium prepared.
Horizon
upper Dinosaur Park Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
RTMP Quarry 108, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada
Diagnosis
  1. Crest strongly inclined rostrally, with a crest-snout angle less than 85 degrees, so that the crest strongly overhangs the snout.
  2. Caudodorsal process of the premaxilla enlarged rostrodorsally to a greater degree, with a broadly rounded profile.
  3. Prepubic blade small, expanded to less than 1.7 times the width of the prepubic neck.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Didanodon possible subjective Horner and colleagues (2004) include Didanodon in Lambeosaurus, while Brett-Surman (1989) holds the name never diagnosed and refers its type material tentatively to Hypacrosaurus instead.
Procheneosaurus junior subjective Holds species P. praeceps and P. cranibrevis (originally Tetragonosaurus); both are now interpreted as juveniles of Lambeosaurus lambei.
Tetragonosaurus junior subjective T. praeceps and T. cranibrevis were first reassigned to Procheneosaurus and are now interpreted as juveniles of Lambeosaurus lambei.

Notable specimens

  • ROM 1218

    Royal Ontario Museum Found 1919 exceptional preservation

    One of only three Lambeosaurus specimens preserving skin impressions. Uniquely, it preserves a subcircular arrangement of feature scales formed by eight wedge-shaped scales converging to a single central point, a pattern not seen in the other skin-bearing specimens.

    Bell (2014)

  • TMP 1966.004.0001

    Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology Found 1937 by C. M. Sternberg complementary

    Basis of the 2007 redescription of L. magnicristatus, supplying most of the species' postcranial anatomy after the holotype was badly water-damaged and much of its limbs and girdles discarded. It also preserves skin impressions along the neck, forelimb, and leg.

    Evans & Reisz (2007)

References

  1. Horner, J. R.; Weishampel, D. B.; Forster, C. A. (2004). Hadrosauridae. The Dinosauria, Second Edition (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 438-463. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Includes Didanodon in Lambeosaurus.

    horner2004a
  2. Brett-Surman, M. K. (1989). A revision of the Hadrosauridae (Reptilia: Ornithischia) and their evolution during the Campanian and Maastrichtian. 1-272. Doctoral thesis, The George Washington University.

    Holds Didanodon never diagnosed, referring its type tentatively to Hypacrosaurus.

    brett-surman1989a
  3. Parks, W. A. (1923). Corythosaurus intermedius, a new species of trachodont dinosaur. University of Toronto Studies, Geology Series 15: 1-57. parks1923a
  4. Gilmore, C. W. (1924). On the genus Stephanosaurus, with a description of the type specimen of Lambeosaurus lambei Parks. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 38(43): 29-48. gilmore1924b
  5. Bell, P. R. (2014). A review of hadrosaurid skin impressions. Hadrosaurs 572-590. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. bell2014a
  6. Sternberg, C. M. (1935). Hooded hadrosaurs of the Belly River Series of the Upper Cretaceous. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 77(52): 1-37.

    Erects Lambeosaurus magnicristatus among the hooded hadrosaurs of the Belly River Series.

    sternberg1935a
  7. Evans, D. C.; Reisz, R. 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

    Redescription of Lambeosaurus magnicristatus on holotype CMN 8705 from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta.

    evans2007a
  8. Mallon, J. C.; Evans, D. C.; Ryan, M. J.; Anderson, J. S. (2012). Megaherbivorous dinosaur turnover in the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of Alberta, Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 350-352: 124-138. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.06.024

    Uses L. clavinitialis as a species distinct from L. lambei in a biostratigraphic zonation of the Dinosaur Park Formation.

    mallon2012a
  9. Dodson, P. (1975). Taxonomic implications of relative growth in lambeosaurine hadrosaurs. Systematic Zoology 24(1): 37-54. doi:10.1093/sysbio/24.1.37

    Treats L. clavinitialis as the female of L. lambei, on the growth of the crest.

    dodson1975a