RE: Hadrosaur nomenclature

["Tracy L. Ford" <dino.hunter@home.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
Paleo_Mont
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 10:48 AM
To: Dinogeorge@aol.com; dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Hadrosaur nomenclature

Ok...guess I need to do something here, again.

>Maiasaura = Brachylophosaurus<
>I admit I don't know much about hadrosaurs, so maybe this is old, but I
haven't heard it before. What's the reasoning behind this

>  Because the look similar. I'm not being smart. The Mor adult Maiasaura
skull is crushed dorsal-ventrally. ROM has a new uncrushed skull that really
really looks like Brachylophosaurus without that crest in the back.

Arg... Hello not that similiar. That specimen is not that new. 93/94/95 or
so when it was acutally found. Is also, the same speciman that has the skin
impressions that show a "waddle" (loose skin under the neck).<<

Right, but nobody using this good skull, just the old MOR crushed skull.

>Fun thought: Brachylophosaurus is a male Maiasaura (or vice versa). Boy, we

really don't know >anything< about dinosaurs, do we?

<cough>bs<cough> Well maybe you...<grins>.

1. _Brachylophosaurus_ is a JUDITHIAN Dinosaur.

2. _Maiasaura_ is a TWO MEDICINE Dinosaur.

3. Same time period yes. Different Enviroments yes.<

Doesn't mean a darn thing. There are several living genera that live in
different environments, but are the same animal or closely related.

>>4. No Two Medicine Dinosaur has been found outside of the Two Medicine
formation.(fragmented and isolated teeth dont count, cause you cant use them
to determine actual specimens!.. ex:Troodon)>>

Edmontonia, Euopolocephalus, pachycephalosaurids, etc.

>>5. There are two types of Maiasaurus skulls a broad and a narrow
snout/beak.<<

Love to see it. Like Prosaurolophus skulls? P. maximus has a narrower snout
then P. blackfeetnessis (sic)

>>6. Both animals, Frontal, Postorbbital, Jugal, Premax, Nasal, Maxilla, are
very different. Can see that when you look at both skulls together.<<

Hope the paper is in the works somewhere.

>>7. Brachylophosaurus has small flat crest that begins before the orbit and
continues back past the post-orbit.

8. Maiasaurus has a  well it doesnt really have much of a crest. The bone
that makes up the crest is a bit procurved. It lays right before the orbit,
curves forward abit.<<

So, doesn't mean they aren't closely related.

>>9. The nasal opening in Brachylophosaurus is longer.


Tracy L. Ford
P. O. Box 1171
Poway Ca  92074