14.5" Hadrosaur (Lambeosaurus) Caudal Vertebra w/ Pathology - Texas

Lambeosaurus (meaning Lambe's lizard) was a crested hadrosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period of what is now North America, 76-75 million years ago. This herbivorous dinosaur would have grown to a length of 25 feet and about 3-4 tons at adult size. Its hands were hoof-like in shape, and based on skin impressions would have been surrounded in flesh like a sort of "mitten". Perhaps most notably, Lambeosaurus had a large, hollow, bony crest at the back of its skull in a tall, flat, rounded shape. The purpose of this crest isn't entirely certain, but likely theories include sexual and social displays. The crests show great disparity between species and possibly between the sexes: some specimens display much smaller crests than others.

This specimen was collected within the past year on private deeded property in Brewster County, Texas. You won't see any other dinosaur material from the Aguja & Javelina Formations for sale because nearly all of the formation lies the borders of Big Bend National Park or in Mexico, where laws prevent collection of fossils for sale. One of our partners was lucky enough to purchase several hundred acres of ranch land in Texas containing a good exposure of these formations.

These formations are equivalent age to the Judith River Formations in the Northern US and Alberta, Canada. Because relatively little collecting has been done on these formations in Texas, most of the species remain undescribed. Our partner has been putting important material into research collections and working with museums and researchers, so in the coming years their work will help lead to formal descriptions for these dinosaurs.