Iguanodon

Physical Description

Iguanodons were semi large dinosaurs. They were about 30 feet long, 16 feet tall at the head, and weighed roughly 10 thousand pounds. It most likely walked on 2 feet and had two arms. The arms each had a hand with 4 fingers and one cone-shaped spike where the thumb would normally be. Similarly to the T-Rex (though not to the same extent) the legs of the iguanodon was much larger than its hands, and its tail was very long and stiff. The iguanodon’s mouth, humorously would have looked similar to a person that has forgot to put his dentures in. They had teeth in their checks as well as a beak.

Lifestyle

The iguanodon was likely a herding animal despite its size. It was a herbivorous dinosaur and although it was very large, it wasn’t nearly as big as other plant eating animals. Iguanodons likely used their thumb spike as their main defence, much like a human with a knife. Even though the iguanodon had a beak, it would chew plants with its cheek teeth.

Iguanodon History

Iguanadons lived in the early cretaceous period, roughly 125 million years ago. Fossils have been found in many continents considering this animal lived while Pangaea was beginning to split up. In Belgium discoveries were made and many bones of iguanodons were together, showing that they were in fact a herding animal.

Did You Know?

The iguanodon was initially portrayed as an animal that walked on its four limbs. However later it was brought to the attention of paleontologists that the front limbs (arms) were much smaller than the rear limbs (legs).

In the early stages of research on this species, it was noted that the conical spike originated on their legs. It was until later that people realized the spike was attached to the hand.

Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Sauropsida
• Order: Ornithischia
• Family: Iguanodontidae
• Genus: Iguanodon
• Species: I. Bernissartensis

Joanne Spencer (2024, March 19). Iguanodon. Animal Corner. Retrieved 2026, October 11, from https://animalcorner.org/dinosaur/iguanodon/

Joanne Spencer. "Iguanodon." Animal Corner, 2024, March 19, https://animalcorner.org/dinosaur/iguanodon/.