Being one of the first dinosaur fossils ever examined by scientists, iguanodon created quite a buzz in the 19th Century. In those days, even experts had little experience with studying fossils, so it took some trial and error to figure out exactly what kind of creature this dino was. A large plant-eater, iguanodon roamed the Earth more than 100 million years ago. This big beast knew how to defend itself-thick, sharp "thumb" spikes could fatally wound enemies.
The Grind: Iguanodon was named for its teeth, which looked much like those of an iguana, but were much bigger. The teeth were all located in the back of its mouth (like human molars) and were used to grind up hundreds of pounds of vegetation per day.
Poker: This dino's most unusual features were the large, sharp spikes on its front feet, which looked like thumbs. Iguanodon could swipe them and slash deep into a predator's flesh to fight off an attack.
Bone Puzzle[]
Fighting off pesky predators was part of daily life for this plant-eating dinosaur.
When sicentists discovered iguanodon, it was only the second dinosaur ever known, so they didn't really know how to put its fossils together. At first, they put the beast's thumb-spikes on its nose, as if they were rhinoceros horns. In 1878, several complete skeletons were found in Belgium, so the experts saw how the bones fit together. They also thought iguanodon walked on its hind legs all the time, standing more than 30 feet tall. When they later found ancient footprints made by the dino, they realized that it walked mostly on all fours.
Up & Down: Aside from the spikes, the claws on this dino's front feet were flat, like a horse's hoofs, to support the creature's weight. Iguanodon also used its front feet like hands to grab branches, and it could rear up on its hind legs to run from enemies.
Plant Life: Iguanodon was highly adaptable, and roamed across four continents. The reptile developed advanced eating techniques-such as the ability to chew food instead of swallowing it whole-that allowed it to eat just about any plants in its habitat.
An Eye Full[]
After soaking up rays from the morning sun in its sail, a spinosaurus is energized and ready to hunt. As it prowls, the dino sees a large iguanodon, and rushes in to make the kill. The predator is about to snap its jaws around its prey when it feels a sharp pain in its eye. The iguanodon has swung its thumb-claw and scored a direct hit!
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- In the 'Bone Puzzle' section, 'scientists' is misspelled as 'sicentists'.
- The iguanodon is featured on several other cards:
- An iguanodon is shown being attacked by several Deinonychus on the latter's knowledge card.
- The Baryonyx knowledge card mentions iguanodon bones being found inside the carnivorous dinosaur's vicinity, bringing up questions about the fish-eater's diet.
- While not named, a herd of iguanodon is shown being hunted down by a pack of Utahraptors on the back of the raptor's card.
- The iguanodon is featured in You Ought to be In Pictures on Monster Mania 80.
- As evident in the time periods given for both dinosaurs on their knowledge cards, the Iguanodon and Spinosaurus likely never met in real life unlike what is shown in the illustration in on the back.