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Size:
10 metres
Weight: 5 tonnes
Distribution: Near worldwide
Description: This
was one of the first dinosaurs to be named – from southern England.
The name comes from the fact that its teeth are shaped very much
like those of a modern day iguana and it’s diet would have been fairly
similar. The main
differences between iguanodon and modern reptiles, is that this dinosaur
had the ability for rudimentary chewing which helped it to process the
vegetation in its diet much more easily.
There was also a hardened beak at the end of the mouth which
would also have aided iguanodon whilst feeding. The
hands were also extremely well designed for grasping.
Whilst not as manipulative as primates, the ‘little’ finger
had some ability to move across the palm of the hand to help grasp
objects, much like the human thumb.
Iguanodon lived during the Cretaceous period of about 120 million
years ago and is one of the most well-known and widespread of all
dinosaur families, remains having been discovered in most continents.
One of the most characteristic features of iguanodon was the
large spike on its hand. Although
this is often portrayed as an offensive weapon to deter predators, it
was probably more likely used for some purpose in attracting mates or
feeding, as with modern day animals which have horns or tusks such as
elephants, deer and antelope.
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