Lambeosaurus

Lambeosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Campanian), 76–75 Ma
Mounted L. lambei skeleton, Royal Ontario Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Family: Hadrosauridae
Subfamily: Lambeosaurinae
Clade: Corythosauria
Tribe: Lambeosaurini
Genus: Lambeosaurus
Parks, 1923
Type species
Lambeosaurus lambei
Parks, 1923
Other species
  • L. magnicristatus
    Sternberg, 1935
  • L. clavinitialis?
    Sternberg, 1935
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
  • Trachodon altidens
    Lambe, 1902
  • Procheneosaurus altidens
    (Lambe, 1942 [originally Trachodon])
  • Tetragonosaurus praeceps
    Parks, 1931 (conserved name) (type)
  • Procheneosaurus praeceps
    (Parks, 1931 [originally Tetragonosaurus]) (conserved name) (type)
  • Tetragonosaurus cranibrevis
    Sternberg, 1935
  • Procheneosaurus cranibrevis
    (Sternberg, 1935 [originally Tetragonosaurus])
  • Corythosaurus frontalis
    Parks, 1935

Lambeosaurus (/ˌlæmbiəˈsɔːrəs/ LAM-bee-ə-SOR-əs,[1] meaning "Lambe's lizard") is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived about 75 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage) of North America. This bipedal/quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur is known for its distinctive hollow cranial crest, which in the best-known species resembled a mitten. Several possible species have been named, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico, but only the two Canadian species are currently recognized as valid.

Material relevant to the genus was first named by Lawrence Lambe in 1902. Over twenty years later, the modern name was coined in 1923 by William Parks, in honour of Lambe, based on better preserved specimens. The genus has 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.

  1. ^ "Lambeosaurus". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021.