Lambeosaurus
| Lambeosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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| File:Lambeosaurus2-sketch1.jpg | |
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| Genus: | Lambeosaurus Parks, 1923
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L. lambei (type species) | |
Lambeosaurus (meaning "Lambe's lizard") is a bipedal herbivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period, found in North America. At about 15 m (50 ft), it was among the longest ornithischians.
Discovery and species
Lambeosaurus was discovered by Dr. William Parks in 1923 in Alberta, Canada. The dinosaur was named after Lawrence Lambe, an early Canadian fossil hunter. Specimens have since been discovered in Alberta, Baja California and Montana.
Paleobiology
Like other hadrosaurs such as Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, Lambeosaurus had a distinctive crest on the top of its head; a large square crest pointing forward and a small spine pointing backwards. Its nasal cavity ran back through this crest making it mostly hollow. It is believed that that this could have enhanced the animals sense of smell, or have created a loud bleating noise. Different crests on the animal initially led scientists to believe that it distinguished separate species, but it is now thought that the crest is attributable to age and sex, since juveniles were crestless.
Fossilized skin imprints have shown that Lambeosaurus had thin skin with uniform polygonal bumps everywhere except for its belly.
Foot prints have shown that Lambeosaurus traveled in herds, moving on its hind limbs, dropping to all fours to feed. It was a quick animal, which was probably its only real defense against carnivores, as it was otherwise defenseless, although its large size would have helped to put off attackers.[1] [2]
