Duck-billed dinosaurs were first discovered in the early 1800s. These unfamiliar creatures quickly became a popular subject of study, for both scientists and enthusiasts alike. The first duck billed dinosaur to be described was Hadrosaurus foulkii, which was found in New Jersey, USA. It was quite the discovery. Revealing a species that was approximately 30 feet long and weighed around two tons. Hadrosaurus foulkii had a long, low body and a small head. Its most distinctive feature was its bill, which was – as the title of this post suggests – shaped like a duck’s beak.
Duck-billed dinosaurs fall into the group of animals called hadrosaurids. The whole group of Hadrosaurs are also sometimes referred to as “duck-billed reptiles,” and exist within the ‘Hadrosauridae’ family. This group contained some of the largest known land animals that have ever lived. In fact, the largest known hadrosaur was Shantungosaurus giganteus, which was up to 50 feet long and weighed over four tons.
Like all of their relatives in the Ornithopoda clade, the Duck-billed dinosaurs were all herbivores, which means that they ate plants. It’s more than likely that they used their bills to strip leaves off of trees and bushes. Like other beaked animals though, they may also have used their bills to dig up roots and tubers. It’s very likely that these dinosaurs ate a lot of food, as they needed to consume large amounts of vegetation to fuel their massive bodies.
These dinosaurs adapted well to live in a variety of environments and habitats. Ranging from forests, swamps, and grasslands. Originally, they became dominant species in what is North America and Asia today. In the Late Cretaceous period they also spread wider into Europe, Africa, and South America. Different species lines took on different adaptions. For example, some duck-billed dinosaurs had webbed feet, which helped them move through swampy areas.
Duck billed dinosaurs were social animals that lived in herds. These herds could contain hundreds of individuals! It’s likely that they used their bills to communicate with each other. They may have made a variety of sounds, including honks, grunts, and squeals.
Duck-billed dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, around 65 million years ago. Scientists believe that a comet or asteroid hit the earth at this time, causing widespread environmental devastation. This event led to the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs, including the duck billed dinosaurs.
List of Duck Billed Dinosaurs
Anatotitan
Anatotitan was a typical hadrosaur, or duck billed dinosaur, that probably lived right up until the extinction of the dinosaurs. This animal had a long snout similar to that of a modern day horse. Its mouth consisted of a toothless bill with rows of teeth further back in the cheek region. The name “Duckbilled” was first applied to this dinosaur when it was discovered in 1908. Since that time, this name has been used with all the other hadrosaurs as well.
- Length: 10 metres / 33 feet
- Weight: 3500 kg / 7000 lbs
- Diet: Herbivore
Bactrosaurus
This Hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, lived around 95 million years ago during the Middle Cretaceous Period. Like other duck billed dinosaurs, it had a toothless beak-shaped opening at the front of its mouth, with rows of self-sharpening teeth located further back in the cheek region. It also had a line of spine-like projections along its back and tail that probably supported a flap of skin or muscle. This feature led to its name Bactrosaurus, which means “Club-Spined Lizard.” Bactrosaurus was discovered in Asia and received its name in 1931.
- Length: 6 metres / 20 feet
- Weight: 1600 kg / 3500 lbs
- Diet: Herbivore
Corythosaurus
Living near the end of the Dinosaur Age, Corythosaurus, or helmet head, was a large hadrosaur. A hadrosaur is a duck-billed dinosaur. Like other hadrosaurs, it had a toothless beak with rows of sharp teeth located in the back of its mouth. The name Corythosaurus comes from its crest, which looks like a helmet worn by ancient soldiers. This crest was probably used to make a loud horn noise. Air from the animal’s nostrils was forced through the crest making it vibrant loudly. Corythosaurus was named in 1914 by Barnum Brown. Since that time, a large number of Corythosaurus fossils have been discovered throughout western North America.
- Length: 10 metres / 33 feet
- Weight: 4000 kg / 8800 lbs
- Diet: Herbivore
Edmontosaurus
Named Edmontosaurus in 1917 by Lawrence Lambe, fossils of Edmontosaurus have since been found in many parts of Western North America. These fossils suggest that Edmontosaurus probably migrated with the seasons. A number of unique fossils of Edmontosaurus have been found, including a partially mummified fossil with food contents in the gut region and skin impressions. Edmontosaurus was a large hadrosaur, or duck billed dinosaur. Like most other hadrosaurs, this animal had a toothless beak, with teeth further back in the cheeks. These teeth were arranged in a manner that allowed them to remain sharp by sliding back and forth against each other. The skull shows signs that Edmontosaurus may have had large inflatable flaps of skin near its nose, perhaps used to attract a mate, or to make a loud honking noise.
- Length: 14 metres / 40 feet
- Weight: 3600 kg / 8000 lbs
- Diet: Herbivore
Gryposaurus
Gryposaurus was discovered and named in 1913 by famous paleontologist Lawrence Lambe. The fossils, which were first found in Alberta, Canada, consist of a number of skull pieces and many skin impressions. These skin impressions show that Gryposaurus’ skin was covered in small polygon shaped scales. The name Curvey Nose refers to the high bump that appears on the front end of its nose. Gryposaurus was a typical hadrosaur, or duck billed dinosaur. The name duckbill refers to the duck-like flat bill that these dinosaurs have. This bill is completely toothless. However, Gryposaurus did have teeth further back in its mouth.
- Length: 30 feet / 9 meters
- Weight: 6000.00 pounds 3000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Hadrosaurus
Hadrosaurus was first discovered in 1838. However, it was not fully studied until 20 years later in 1858, when a vacationing scientist realized how important the discovery was. This makes it one of the very first dinosaurs to be named in North America. Many later and similar dinosaur discoveries have subsequently been grouped together and called Hadrosaurs, or duckbills. Little is known about Hadrosaurus itself since the fossil remains were scant. It is believed that Hadrosaurus did not have a crest like those common among so many other duckbills.
- Length: 30 feet / 9 meters
- Weight: 6000.00 pounds 3000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Hypacrosaurus
Living during the Late Cretaceous Period, Hypacrosaurus was a typical hadrosaur. A hadrosaur was a dinosaur with a duckbill, which is why they are commonly called duck billed dinosaurs. The front of Hypacrosaurus’ mouth began with a toothless bill, followed by rows of self-sharpening teeth located further back in the mouth near the animal’s cheeks. How did these teeth self-sharpen? The top teeth were set in the animal’s mouth at an angle to the bottom teeth that caused them to grind against each other.
The tail of Hypacrosaurus was very long and stiff. It would have been used as a weight to balance the animal as it darted quickly from side to side evading predators. Like many other duckbills, Hypacrosaurus had a hollow crest located on the top of its head. It is believed that these crests were used to make loud horn blasts that could have been heard from a reasonable distance. Hypacrosaurus had large eyes compared to other dinosaurs. These keen eyes were probably used to detect enemies like Tyrannosaurus.
- Length: 30 feet / 9 meters
- Weight: 6000.00 pounds 3000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Lambeosaurus
Lambeosaurus was a massive and very important hadrosaur, or duck billed dinosaur. First, at 49 feet (15m) in length, it was quite possibly the largest of all the hadrosaurs. Secondly, Lambeosaurus lends its name to the lambeosaurine sub-group of hadrosaurs, or the hadrosaurs with prominent head crests. The crest found on Lambeosaurus itself was rectangular, and looked as though a hatchet or axe had lodged in the animal’s head. One unique fossil shows an imprint of Lambeosaurus’ skin, revealing a thick, leathery, rough hide.
- Length: 50.00 feet 15.00 meters
- Weight: 12000.00 pounds 6000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Maiasaura
Around 75 million years ago, in a part of the Earth that is now Montana, a group of possibly hundreds of Maiasaura dinosaurs were quietly attending their nests. It is believed that these dinosaurs stayed together in nesting herds, much as modern birds often do today. As the dinosaurs played, cared for their young, and watched for danger, an unexpected natural disaster caused the entire heard to be buried in volcanic ash.
This event helped to fossilize many different aged dinosaurs, including adults, young, and even unhatched eggs. X-rays show that the eggs actually contain fossilized embryos that were in the process of developing. Maiasaura had a long narrow snout very similar to that of modern day horses. Above each eye was a small crest-like horn. Maiasaura was a hadrosaur, or duckbill, but lacked the head crest common on so many other duckbills.
- Length: 30 feet / 9.5 meters
- Weight: 8000.00 pounds 4000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus was discovered in Alberta, Canada, in 1922 by William Parks. This dinosaur was a typical hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, with a toothless bill, rows of cheek teeth, powerful rear legs, and a prominent head crest. Scientists believe that Parasaurolophus used this crest like a horn, allowing it to make very loud calls to distant companions. The fossils found in Alberta were fairly complete, and consisted of an almost complete skeleton.
- Length: 40.00 feet / 12.00 meters
- Weight: 6000.00 pounds 3000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Prosaurolophus
In 1912, a medium-sized hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, was described and named Prosaurolophus by Barnum Brown. This animal lived about 75 million years ago on the North American Continent. Prosaurolophus used its powerful hind legs to walk bipedally, leaving its front legs and feet to be used in self-defense, and to assist in feeding. Fossilized tracks show that Prosaurolophus could also run on all four legs when needed. This duckbill did not have the head crest common on many of its close relatives. Instead, a small crest appeared just above its eyes. Like most duckbills, Prosaurolophus had a toothless bill in the front of its mouth, with teeth located further back in its cheeks.
- Length: 30 feet / 9 meters
- Weight: 6000.00 pounds 3000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Protohadros
The dinosaur Protohadros appeared on the Earth around 95 million years ago. This was a time of warmth and ample vegetation on the Earth. Protohadros was a hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur. It possessed a long duck-like beak which contained no teeth. Further back within its mouth were rows of possibly thousands of small teeth, which it used to crush plant material before swallowing it. Scientists believe that Protohadros, which was discovered in 1994 by Gary Byrd, could have been the ancestor for all the other duck billed dinosaurs. If not the ancestor, it was certainly one of the first. Protohadros had powerful hind legs which it used for quick movement. The front legs were smaller and weaker. Both front and rear legs ended in hoof-like claws.
- Length: 19 feet / 6 meters
- Weight: 2000.00 pounds 1000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Saurolophus
About 70 million years ago, Saurolophus roamed the Asian and North American Continents. Like many other hadrosaurs, or duckbills, this medium-sized dinosaur had an elaborate head crest. There is much debate among scientists today about what this crest was used for. In the early days of dinosaur discovery, it was thought that duckbills were water animals, and that these crests may have been snorkels for breathing underwater.
Today it is thought that they may have been used as horns to make loud honk noises, making duckbills among the loudest of all the dinosaurs. Fossil evidence shows that Saurolophus might have had a large flap of skin on its head that could possibly have been inflated like a giant balloon in order to attract a mate.
- Length: 30 feet / 9 meters
- Weight: 4000.00 pounds 2000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore
Shantungosaurus
Shantungosaurus lived in Asia around 80 million years ago. This large hadrosaur, or duckbill, was possibly the largest of all the duck-billed dinosaurs to have roamed the Earth. It was discovered and named in 1973. Since that time, a total of five individuals have been discovered, giving scientists a pretty good idea of what this animal looked like. Like many other hadrosaurs, Shantungosaurus had a very long, tapering tail, which it would have used to balance itself as it ran, and also as a possible weapon. Tendons within the tail made it stout and inflexible. Like other duckbills, Shantungosaurus had no teeth in the front of its mouth, and several rows of self-sharpening teeth in the cheek region.
- Length: 50.00 feet 15.00 meters
- Weight: 10000.00 pounds 5000.00 kilograms
- Diet: Herbivore