The Proto-Parasaurolophus: Plesiolophus warnerensis

Publication Info:

Transcript:

Bradley D. McFeeters et al. A new parasaurolophin dinosaur (Hadrosauridae: Lambeosaurinae) from the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, published online July 13, 2026; doi: 10.1139/cjes-2026-0013

Meet Plesiolophus warnerensis, the brand new dinosaur from Alberta Canada! This Lambeosaurine Hadrosaur has some weird features, and paleontologists believe it could possibly be a direct ancestor of the world famous Parasaurolophus!

Episode 310

Notes:

So, there's another new dinosaur. I know you probably know Parasaurolophus, right? It was a lambeosaurine hadrosaur. And in the late Cretaceous, Lambeosaurinae was pretty much taking over the planet. They were found just about everywhere, especially in the northern hemisphere. Big herbivorous dinosaurs that could be either quadrupeds or bipeds depending on their mood. Lambeosaurinae has been around a long time, almost 200 years. It was originally named in 1850. And probably most famously known for Parasaurolophus or Corythosaurus or obviously Lambeosaurus. Well, there's a brand new one that's potentially filling in some gaps in the family tree. Meet Plesiolophus warnerensis known from a partial skull discovered in the Oldman Formation of Alberta, Canada. And 77 million years ago, well, at the time, it was doing something a little weird. Because it has features from two very distinct groups within Lambeosaurinae. It has traits from the Lambeosaurus relatives, and then it has some traits from the Parasaurolophus relatives, specifically juveniles of the Parasaurolophus relatives. And those features mixed with the age and location has led paleontologists to believe that it might be the earliest direct relative of Parasaurolophus after the split between the two groups, or at least the earliest discovered so far. As usual, if you want more information, here's the source.