Hadrosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived in North America
during the Cretaceous period
between about 80 and 75 million years ago.
An adult Hadrosaurus has been estimated to be about 30 feet (9.1 meters)
long and weigh around 7 tons. Like other duck-billed dinosaurs, Hadrosaurus is
believed to have generally been bipedal, but could walk on 4 limbs when feeding.
The story of the discovery of Hadrosaurus is quite interesting. The first
fossilized
bones of the animal were discovered by
John Estaugh Hopkins in 1838 near Haddonfield,
New Jersey,
who then displayed them in his home.
These bones were seen by William Parker Foulke in 1858, who returned to the
excavation site (now a national historic landmark - the
"Hadrosaurus Foulkii Leidy Site") and found additional bones
in conjunction with a paleontologist, Joseph Leidy. Leidy subsequently named
the species Hadrosaurus foulkii in honor of his collaborator.
Leidy wrote a description of the Hadrosaurus, complete with illustrations, in 1860,
but the American Civil War delayed publication until 1865. Leidy, contrary to prevailing
views at the time, correctly reconstructed the skeleton as bipedal, and a complete
the skeleton was reconstructed in this form in 1868 - the first mounted dinosaur
skeleton.
It should be noted however, that only one skeleton of Hadrosaurus has ever been found,
and this specimen lacks a skull (among other bones). Reconstructions of the animal
are therefore usually done using skulls of related species. Because of the lack of
specimens, which makes it difficult to perform comparisons with other species,
many scientists consider Hadrosaurus to be a "nomen dubium" - a dubious name.
Here is a summary of some of the key facts about Hadrosaurus:
Hadrosaurus was a genus of dinosaur. Hadrosaurus is considered by some to be a "nomen dubium" (a scientific name of unknown or doubtful application) - because only a few fossils have been found (one very incomplete skeleton missing a skull and many other bones), and, as a result, it is impossible to compare it to its relatives for classification purposes.
"Hadrosaurus" means "sturdy lizard".
Hadrosaurus was a member of the Ornithischia ("bird-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Hadrosaurus was not closely related to birds, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Hadrosaurus was a Hadrosaur (usually known as "duck-billed dinosaur") - a member of a group of related herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs that were very successful in the Cretaceous period.
Hadrosaurus lived between about 80 million years ago and 75 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period.
Hadrosaurus lived in North America.
Hadrosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
Hadrosaurus was about 30 feet (9.1 meters) long.
Hadrosaurus weighed about 7 tons.
Hadrosaurus is the official state dinosaur of New Jersey.
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