FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Want to learn some cool facts about a new but the oldest known Hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Middle-Late Cretaceous era in the upper Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah? Then this article is for you!
Eolambia is an extinct genus of herbivorous Hadrosauroid dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous era in the Upper Cretaceous of North America. It was discovered by Carole and Ramal Jones in 1993 and was named by Dr. James Kirkland, an American paleontologist in 1998, its name means 'dawn lambeosaurine', a reference made to its initial classification. It has only one type species called Eolambia caroljonesa, which is named after Carole Jones, its co-discoverer. Ever since the discovery of its first specimen, the site it was discovered in, i.e. the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah, has been explored a lot and several Eolambia fossils, including dentary bones and nearly complete skeletons (belonging to adults and juveniles) have been found. Read on to find out more about this dinosaur including details about its history, range, classification, and which museum its remains are stored in.
Learn about some other pre-historic creatures from our Stellasaurus facts and Beibeilong facts pages.
The word Eolambia is pronounced as 'ee-o -lam-bee-uh'. It was named by Dr. James Kirkland and after Lambeosaurus because in a 1998 paper published in the bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science the species was considered as a basal Lambeosaurine, and its name means 'dawn lambeosaurine'. It has one type specimen-E. caroljonesa and its name honor Carol Jones.
The scientific classification of this dinosaur is as follows - kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, clade Dinosauria, Ornithischia (Ornithopoda), and superfamily Hadrosauroidea. This dinosaur was grouped with the Lambeosaurines until a study conducted in 1999 revealed that this dinosaur did not have a broad or expanded foot or a club-like condition, which raised many questions about its position in the evolutionary tree. Later it was also considered to have a more primitive form similar to an Ornithopod dinosaur. Some other published papers were primarily concerned with the recovered dinosaur fossils, including details of the Eolambia skull's reconstruction, and restoration of its remains. It was a large, herbivorous dinosaur and further in-depth research revealed that it was closely related to the duck-billed Hadrosaurs, which helped researchers classify Eolambia (dawn Lambeosaurine) as a member of the Hadrosaur family.
This dinosaur lived during the Albian stage of the Middle-Late Cretaceous period.
These dinosaurs went extinct during the K-T mass extinction, nearly 65 million years ago.
Fossil remains belonging to the large primitive herbivore Hadrosaur dinosaur were discovered from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, in the USA. Thus, indicating the range of these hadrosaurid dinosaurs occupied the Lower Cretaceous of North America.
Eolambia lived near forests, lakes, and floodplains, this was proved by sedimentological evidence or data collected from the archaeological site its remains were recovered. The climate of the region most probably was humid or warm.
The social life and behavior of this dinosaur from the Dinosauria/Ornithischia clade are unknown.
The lifespan of these dinosaurs is unknown, but many theories suggest that these dinosaurs had a good life span and lived a long life.
They reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would release their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos in nests, which were built by digging burrows in the soil.
The Eolambia dinosaur was a large Hadrosauroid, but it did not have the exact same features as other Hadrosaurs e.g. it had a short thumb spike similar to a Camptosaurus and Iguanodon dinosaur, whereas duckbill dinosaurs lacked a thumb spike. This dinosaur also had seven sacral vertebrae, as opposed to the Hadrosaurids who had at least eight sacral vertebrae. Eolambia had a broader snout, whereas, the older members of the group had narrow snouts. The fossil representation of these dinosaurs includes a restored partial skull of an individual dinosaur, and skeletons of several adult and juvenile dinosaurs, eggs, and embryos.
A partial Eolambia skeleton was recovered from North America, the remains included a partial skull and forelimb from an adult and a left femur. The archeological site is nicknamed 'Carol's Site', as Carol Jones discovered the fossils.
Communication among these dinosaurs that roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous era is still a mystery but many scientists over the past decades have come up with several theories that suggest possible ways these animals communicated, some put forth the theory of vocalizations and that these ferocious beasts engaged in dialogue by producing calls, hoots, cracking sounds, body movements, and symbolic love calls during the mating season.
Curious about Eolambia' size? Well, adults of this species grew up to 20 ft (6 m) in length, they are among the largest Hadrosauroids.
The speed of an Eolambia caroljonesa is unknown.
Adults weighed around 2204.6 lb (1,000 kg).
A female dinosaur is called saura, whereas a male dinosaur is called saurus.
The young ones of this dinosaur can be referred to as hatchlings.
This member of Hadrosauroidea followed a herbivore diet and fed on araucarias, ferns, conifers, gymnosperms, algae, and flowering plants
Eolambia dinosaurs were preyed upon by large carnivore Theropod dinosaurs.
These dinosaurs weren't necessarily aggressive and avoided fights or contact with other predatory dinosaurs.
It is the oldest known member of the family of duck-billed dinosaurs, and many believe it is also the earliest duck-billed dinosaur, known as hadrosaurs.
The hypodigm of Eolambia consists of specimens that are housed in the College of Eastern Utah Museum (CEUM), and the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (OMNH). The specimens kept at CEUM include two partial skeletons.
They had teeth similar to members of Iguanodontia i.e. tiny rows of serrated teeth adapted to their diet.
Eolambia was named after Lambeosaurus because originally it was described as a basal lambeosaurine in a taxonomy paper (Bulletin) published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in 1998. The prefix for its generic name is derived from Greek and it means dawn, morning, or early, thus the whole name translates to dawn lambeosaurine. It was a herbivore Hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived during the early Late Cretaceous, or Middle Cretaceous, in the United States. It has a single species called E. caroljonesa, named by Dr. James Kirkland, a renowned paleontologist in 1998, who also formally described the dinosaurs as a new genus. The name honors Carole who discovered the type specimen in 1993. Several researchers believe that this is the earliest duck-billed dinosaur (known as Hadrosaurs).
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Dracoraptor fun facts, or Spiclypeus facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Eolambia coloring pages.
Main image by Audrey.m.horn.
Second image by Lukas Panzarin and Andrew T. McDonald.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.
We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.
We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
Was this article helpful?
We’ll send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out.
Check your inbox for your latest news from us. You have subscribed to:
Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter.