Iguanodon Dinosaurs Story

Iguanodon was a herbivorous (plant eating) dinosaur that lived during the early part of the Cretaceous period, between about 135 million and 125 million years ago. It was only the second dinoaur ever discovered - in fact before the word "dinosaur" had even been invented - the first fossils of the animal were found in England in 1809. Since 1809, fossils of Iguanodon have also been found in a number of other countries around the world including Belgium, Germany, the United States, Mongolia, as well as in Africa. Additionally, footprints, but no skeletons as yet, have also been found in Spitzbergen Island (which is in the Arctic Circle) and South America.

Iguanodon probably mostly walked in a bipedal (two legged) posture, although it was probably also able to stand on four legs. Its most unusual feature is that it had a conical horn attached to each thumb - the purpose of this horn is not entirely clear - although defense or obtaining foods are likely possibilities. In terms of size, Iguanodon was about 30 feet (9.1 meters) long.

When the first reconstruction of Iguanodon was made by Gideon Mantell in the 1820s. Mantall only had limited information and partial skeletons to work from, so he did make a number of errors, including wrongly attaching the horn to Iguanodon's snout.

Another famous early reconstruction of Iguanodon was made by the sculptor, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkin, with advice from Sir Richard Owen. This sculpture attempted to depict Iguanodon as it be have been in life (but we now wrongly depicted it in a sprawling lizard-like posture, and with a horn on its snout). The sculpture is perhaps most famous for being the site of a dinner party that Owen held on New Year's Eve 1853 for 21 eminent men of science. Today, this sculpture (and a variety of others constructed during the same period) can be found in Dinosaur Court in South London.