Lambeosaurus Facts
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 2.5m |
| Length | 9m |
| Weight | 4 tonnes |
| Speed | 25 km/h |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | Western North America |

| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 2.5m |
| Length | 9m |
| Weight | 4 tonnes |
| Speed | 25 km/h |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ornithopod |
| Location | Western North America |
Lambeosaurus was a spectacular ornithopod dinosaur that roamed the forests and plains of western North America during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 83.6 million years ago. This magnificent herbivore stood about 2.5 metres tall at the hip and measured up to 9 metres in length, making it one of the more impressive duck-billed dinosaurs of its time.
The most striking feature of Lambeosaurus was its extraordinary hollow crest, which projected forwards and upwards from the top of its skull like a magnificent axe blade. This crest was not merely decorative - it contained complex internal chambers connected to the dinosaur's nasal passages, allowing it to produce a variety of sounds for communication. Different species of Lambeosaurus had differently shaped crests, suggesting they may have produced unique calls to identify members of their own species.
As a herbivore, Lambeosaurus possessed hundreds of small, tightly packed teeth arranged in grinding surfaces called dental batteries, perfect for processing tough plant material. It could walk on both two and four legs, likely moving on all fours while feeding on low-growing vegetation and rising to its hind legs to reach higher branches or to move quickly across the landscape.
Lambeosaurus lived in lush, subtropical environments alongside other dinosaurs including Centrosaurus, Styracosaurus, and the fearsome predator Gorgosaurus. Fossil evidence suggests these ornithopods may have lived in herds, providing safety in numbers against the large carnivores of their time.
Lambeosaurus is instantly recognisable by its distinctive hollow, axe-shaped crest that projected forward from the top of its skull. The crest varied in shape between different species, with some being more elongated and others more compact, but all contained complex internal air chambers that connected to the nasal passages.
Lambeosaurus likely lived in herds and used its hollow crest to produce a variety of sounds for communication with other members of its species. It probably spent much of its time foraging for vegetation, moving between bipedal and quadrupedal stances depending on whether it was feeding or travelling.
Lambeosaurus has appeared in various dinosaur documentaries and educational programmes, often featured for its distinctive crest and ability to produce sounds.
Lambeosaurus was first described by William A. Parks in 1923. The original fossils were discovered at Alberta, Canada.