Ajnabia odysseus

†Ajnabia odysseus was a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid from the Late Cretaceous (~66 Ma) of Morocco. A large crested duck-billed herbivore, it was named by Longrich et al. in 2020. Remarkably, it is the first hadrosaurid found in Africa — indicating these North American dinosaurs crossed the Tethys Sea to colonize Africa near the end of the Cretaceous, an extraordinary biogeographic feat.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Ajnabia odysseus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Ajnabia odysseus lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.