Hadrosaurus
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| Hadrosaurus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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 An early depiction of Hadrosaurus
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H. foulkii Leidy, 1858 (type) |
Hadrosaurus (pronounced /ˌhædroʊˈsɔrəs/, from Greek: ἁδρος, hadros + σαυρος, sauros = sturdy lizard) is a dubious genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur. In 1858, a skeleton of a dinosaur from this genus was the first full dinosaur skeleton found in North America and, in 1868, it became the first ever mounted dinosaur skeleton. Hadrosaurus foulkii is the only species in this genus and has been the official state dinosaur of New Jersey since 1991.
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[edit] Description
Hadrosaurus lived near what is now the coast of New Jersey, U.S.A., in the late Cretaceous Period - around 80 million years ago. Most sources agree that it had a length of 7 meters to 10 meters (23 to 33 ft) and a weight of around 7 tonnes[citation needed]. It was likely bipedal for the purposes of running, but could use its forelegs to support itself while grazing - like all hadrosaurids, Hadrosaurus was herbivorous. Its teeth suggest it ate twigs and leaves.
[edit] Discovery
In 1838, William Estaugh Hopkins was digging in a marl pit (on a small tributary of the Cooper River in Haddonfield, New Jersey) when he uncovered large bones, putting them on display at his home, also in Haddonfield. In 1858 these bones sparked the interest of a visitor, William Parker Foulke. The skeleton was dug out from the marl pit in 1858 by Foulke. In the same year, the species was named by paleontologist Joseph Leidy from an almost complete set of limbs, along with a pelvis, several part of the feet, twenty-eight vertebrae (including eighteen from the tail), eight teeth and two small parts of the jaw. Leidy recognized that these bones were from a dinosaur by their similarity to those of Iguanodon, discovered in England some decades before, but the skeleton of Hadrosaurus was far more complete. Leidy's monograph Cretaceous Reptiles of the United States, describing Hadrosaurus more completely and with illustrations, was written in 1860 but the American Civil War delayed its publication until 1865. Leidy reconstructed Hadrosaurus as a biped, in contrast to the view at the time that such dinosaurs were quadrupedal. The entire skeleton was completely assembled in 1868 by a team including English sculptor and naturalist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and was put on display at Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, where it remains available for public viewing.
Despite the fact that the family Hadrosauridae is named after this genus, there is no skull known. The skeleton is indistinguishable from that of other hadrosaurines, leading most scientists to consider it a nomen dubium, or dubious name. Many artists have, however, recreated Hadrosaurus with skulls from other, related species such as Gryposaurus and Brachylophosaurus.
A statue of Hadrosaurus, sculpted by Haddonfield resident John Giannotti, now stands in the center of the town of Haddonfield, commemorating its discovery there.
[edit] In popular culture
The character Glenda from Eric Garcia's novel Anonymous Rex is a hadrosaur.
In Michael Crichton's novel Jurassic Park, Hadrosaurus is one of the dinosaurs that had been cloned by InGen.
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Distant Origin", a race known as the "Voth" is described as being descended from the "Hadrosaur".
[edit] External links
- Hadrosaurus mummy
- The discovery of H. foulkii
- Hadrosaurids on UCMP
- New Jersey State Museum website
- The Academy of Natural Sciences
