Iguanodon

The Iguanodon genus of herbivorous dinosaur consists of a number of species that lived between 140 to 120 million years ago on every major land mass.

Fast Facts

1. Name Means: "Iguana Tooth"
2. Naming Credit: Gideon Mantell (1822)
3. Range: Worldwide
4. Classification:
   1. Order: Ornithischia
   2. Family: Iguanodontidae
   3. Genus: Iguanodon
   4. Type Species: Iguandodon bernissartensis
5. Period: Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous
6. Length: Up to 40 feet
7. Weight: 3.5 tons
8. Lifespan: Up to 60 years
9. Discovery helped spur paleontology
10. One of the inspirations for Godzilla, with Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus

Dinner In a Dinosaur

There was a great deal of professional debate between to early discoverers of Iguanodon fossils, Gideon Mantell and Sir Richard Owen. Owen believed Iguanodon were heavy beasts resembling trunkless elephants, more in keeping with his Creationist beliefs. Mantell believed them to be more reptilian and lizard-like, but died before his interpretation could influence the design of the Crystal Palace exhibit of the dinosaur.

The Crystal Palace sculpture of Iguanodon, based on Owens' concept of the animal, was so large a twenty-person dinner party was held inside it to celebrate the exhibit of dinosaur reconstructions it was part of.

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