Hadrosaurid dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous US and Canada
Edmontosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian), 73–66 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Mounted cast of a fossil E. annectens skeleton, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
†Ornithischia
Clade:
†Ornithopoda
Family:
†Hadrosauridae
Subfamily:
†Saurolophinae
Tribe:
†Edmontosaurini
Genus:
†Edmontosaurus Lambe, 1917
Type species
†Edmontosaurus regalis
Lambe, 1917
Other species
†E. annectens (Marsh, 1892)
Synonyms
Anatosaurus Lull & Wright, 1942
Anatotitan Chapman & Brett-Surman, 1990
Claosaurus annectens Marsh, 1892
Ugrunaaluk Mori et al., 2015
Edmontosaurus (/ɛdˌmɒntəˈsɔːrəs/ed-MON-tə-SOR-əs) (meaning "lizard from Edmonton"), with the second species often colloquially and historically known as Anatosaurus or Anatotitan (meaning "duck lizard" and "giant duck"), is a genus of hadrosaurid (duck-billed) dinosaur. It contains two known species: Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks of western North America that date from the late Campanian age of the Cretaceous period 73 million years ago, while those of E. annectens were found in the same geographic region from rocks dated to the end of the Maastrichtian age, 66 million years ago. Edmontosaurus was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to ever exist, and lived alongside dinosaurs like Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Pachycephalosaurus shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Edmontosaurus included two of the largest hadrosaurid species, with E. annectens measuring up to 12 metres (39 ft) in length and weighing around 5.6 metric tons (6.2 short tons) in average asymptotic body mass, although some individuals would have been much larger. Several well-preserved specimens are known that include numerous bones, as well as extensive skin impressions and possible gut contents. Edmontosaurus is classified as a genus of saurolophine (or hadrosaurine) hadrosaurid, a member of the group of hadrosaurids that lacked large, hollow crests and instead had smaller, solid crests or fleshy combs.
The first fossils named Edmontosaurus were discovered in southern Alberta (named after Edmonton, the capital city), in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (formerly called the lower Edmonton Formation). The type species, E. regalis, was named by Lawrence Lambe in 1917, although several other species that are now classified in Edmontosaurus were named earlier. The best known of these is E. annectens, named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1892. This species was originally as a species of Claosaurus, known for many years as a species of Trachodon, and later known as Anatosaurus annectens. Anatosaurus, Anatotitan, and probably Ugrunaaluk are now generally regarded as synonyms of Edmontosaurus.
Edmontosaurus was widely distributed across western North America, ranging from Colorado to the northern slopes of Alaska. The distribution of Edmontosaurus fossils suggests that it preferred coasts and coastal plains. It was a herbivore that could move on both two legs and four. Because it is known from several bone beds, Edmontosaurus is thought to have lived in groups and may have been migratory as well. The wealth of fossils has allowed researchers to study its paleobiology in detail, including its brain, how it may have fed, and its injuries and pathologies, such as evidence for tyrannosaur attacks on a few specimens.
(duck-billed) dinosaur. It contains two known species: Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks...
Edmontosaurus annectens (meaning "connected lizard from Edmonton"), often colloquially and historically known as the Anatosaurus (meaning "duck lizard")...
southern Alberta. Thus, the Edmonton Formation lent Edmontosaurus its name. The name Edmontosaurus regalis (meaning "regal," or, more loosely, "king-sized")...
similar to and shares many unique characters with Edmontosaurus, forming a node of an Edmontosaurus–Shantungosaurus clade between North America and Asia...
their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includes genera such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus, was a common group of herbivores during the Late...
The Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History...
The Edmontosaurus mummy SMF R 4036 is an exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur fossil in the collection of the Naturmuseum Senckenberg (SM) in Frankfurt...
body. The term was coined by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1911 for an Edmontosaurus specimen (AMNH 5060) discovered in 1908 by fossil hunter Charles Hazelius...
not a particularly close relative of classic "hadrosaurines" such as Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus. As a result of this, the name Hadrosaurinae was restricted...
Jacob Wortman found skin impressions on the first known specimen of Edmontosaurus annectens, which were largely destroyed during the specimen's excavation...
Edmontosaurus. In the upper Hell Creek section, for example, the census included twenty two Triceratops, five Tyrannosaurus, and five Edmontosaurus....
and a young female Edmontosaurus gets killed by the Gorgosaurus as she wanders too far from the herd. The next day, the Edmontosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus...
was prepared by paleoartist Robert Nicholls. Another originals are an Edmontosaurus annectens mummy (specimen SMF R 4036) from Lance Formation, Wyoming...
infancy at this point, and only the species known today as Edmontosaurus annectens, Edmontosaurus regalis, and Gryposaurus notabilis (at that time thought...
structures primarily found in placental mammals, hadrosaurs such as Edmontosaurus possessed hoofed forelimbs. The marsupial Chaeropus also had hooves...
had more endurance than hadrosaurs such as Edmontosaurus; though biomechanical studies have shown Edmontosaurus was the faster animal, its greater speed...
Park. Some of the specimens, from left to right, are Hypacrosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Lambeosaurus, Gorgosaurus (both in the background), Tyrannosaurus,...
Saurolophus sp. In 2010, one of the skulls was instead assigned to Edmontosaurus. A 2013 study placed the two specimens in a new species, S. morrisi...
than either lambeosaurines or other traditional "hadrosaurines", like Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus. As a result of this, the name Hadrosaurinae was dropped...
supported by skin preserved above the neck and back of Corythosaurus and Edmontosaurus. Subsequently, reconstructions of Parasaurolophus with a substantial...
vision is found mainly in predators. A skeleton of the hadrosaurid Edmontosaurus annectens has been described from Montana with healed tyrannosaur-inflicted...
and Saurolophus. Although they lack a shorter frontal, the genera Edmontosaurus and Shantungosaurus share with saurolophins an elongated dentary. Patches...
Global Information
