Quick Hadrosaurus Facts
- Weighed as much as an Asian Elephant
- Was 3 car links long
- Probably lived in large herds
- Lived in North America
- Is the state dinosaur of New Jersey
- Was an herbivore
About Hadrosaurus
Hadrosaurus is a dinosaur which lived approximately 70 to 84 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period. Its bones was first discovered by John Estaugh Hopkins as he was digging a pit in New Jersey in 1838. Later in 1858, William Parker Foulke was on vacation in the area and noticed the bones. He then decided to excavate them. Foulke called in paleontologist Joseph Leidy and the two then began to study the bones together. After much analysis and study, they named it Hadrosaurus—a name which means “bulky lizard.”
Only one skeleton of this dinosaur has been found, and it shows just how big it was. This dinosaur was approximately 32 feet long and weighed around 4 tons. Although no skull has been found of this dinosaur as of late, paleontologists have found dozens of its teeth with the rest of its skeleton and they have shown that this dinosaur was an herbivore.
An interesting fact about Hadrosaurus is that there is some controversy surrounding this dinosaur. Only one skeleton of this dinosaur has been found, so that has prompted some paleontologists to say that this dinosaur isn’t its own complete species but may actually be a member of another dinosaur species. This controversy probably won’t ever be solved however, not unless the skull of this dinosaur is found or another complete skeleton is found.
All recreations of this dinosaur have been made using the head of a Gryposaurus. That’s because it is considered the prototypical hadrosaur. Therefore, it is speculated that Hadrosaurus probably behaved in very much the same way as Gryposaurus did. That is probably traveled North America in herds and lived off vegetation such as club mosses and seed ferns.
Hadrosaurus Pictures
