Iguanodon

Iguanodon, named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus Iguanodon, dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, taxonomic revision in the early 21st century has defined Iguanodon to be based on at least one well-substantiated species: Iguanodon bernissartensis, which lived during the Barremian to early Aptian ages of the Early Cretaceous in Belgium, Germany, England, and Spain, between about 126 and 122 million years ago. Iguanodon was a large, bulky herbivore, measuring up to 9–11 metres (30–36 ft) in length and 4.5 metric tons in body mass. Distinctive features include large thumb spikes, which were possibly used for defense against predators, combined with long prehensile fifth fingers able to forage for food.

A picture published with the record for Iguanodon.

Ben2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
AnkylopollexiaPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Ornithopoda
Life habit
ground dwelling, gregariousPBDB, for Ornithischia
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Ornithischia
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Ornithischia
Length
10 mWikidata

Time the record covers

At least 65 million years on record.

The record covers at least 149.2 Mya to 83.6 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 154.8 Mya to 66 Mya.

Late Jurassic — about 2 of 133 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 129 of 133 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 2 of 133 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 0 of 133 occurrences157–153 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences153–150 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences150–147 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences147–144 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences144–141 Mya — about 5 occurrences141–138 Mya — about 7 occurrences138–135 Mya — about 14 occurrences135–132 Mya — about 14 occurrences132–129 Mya — about 10 occurrences129–126 Mya — about 10 occurrences126–123 Mya — about 36 occurrences123–120 Mya — about 25 occurrences120–117 Mya — about 3 occurrences117–113 Mya — about 2 occurrences113–110 Mya — about 1 occurrence110–107 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences107–104 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences104–101 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences101–98 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences95–92 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences92–89 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences89–86 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences86–83 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences83–80 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences80–77 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences77–73 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences73–70 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences70–67 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences67–64 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences149.2 Mya83.6 Mya157 Mya64 Mya

133 occurrences of Iguanodon on record, most of them in the Early Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

133 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

28 formations

Arcillas de Morella — 40.61°N, 0.11°WArcillas de Morella — 40.49°N, 0.42°EArcillas de Morella — 40.58°N, 0.22°WWeald Clay — 51.13°N, 0.35°WWeald Clay — 50.91°N, 0.49°EWeald Clay — 50.87°N, 0.56°EWeald Clay — 50.60°N, 1.95°WWeald Clay — 50.66°N, 2.46°WWeald Clay — 51.00°N, 0.80°WWeald Clay — 52.72°N, 1.44°WWeald Clay — 50.98°N, 0.20°WWessex — 50.64°N, 1.41°WWessex — 50.67°N, 1.13°WWessex — 50.65°N, 1.46°WTunbridge Wells Sand — 50.83°N, 0.44°ETunbridge Wells Sand — 51.02°N, 0.16°WTunbridge Wells Sand — 51.09°N, 0.17°WTunbridge Wells Sand — 51.02°N, 0.13°WTunbridge Wells Sand — 51.07°N, 0.07°WTunbridge Wells Sand — 51.09°N, 0.30°WCamarillas — 40.67°N, 0.67°WCamarillas — 40.65°N, 0.88°WCamarillas — 40.12°N, 0.82°WAshdown — 50.67°N, 2.46°WAshdown — 50.86°N, 0.62°EAshdown — 50.85°N, 0.51°EAshdown — 50.87°N, 0.66°EAshdown — 51.05°N, 0.19°EWadhurst Clay — 50.94°N, 0.61°EWadhurst Clay — 50.90°N, 0.51°EBückeberg — 52.26°N, 9.11°EHuérteles — 42.06°N, 2.39°WCapas Rojas — 40.59°N, 0.14°WPapo Seco — 38.42°N, 9.21°WEl Collado — 40.59°N, 2.07°WEl Collado — 40.55°N, 2.03°WWoburn Sand — 52.12°N, 0.20°ESainte-Barbe Clays — 50.48°N, 3.65°EVectis — 50.62°N, 1.37°WCamadas de Almargem — 38.80°N, 9.38°WWadi Milk — 16.70°N, 31.14°ECalcaires à Spatangues — 47.98°N, 3.98°WArgile Ostréenne — 48.70°N, 5.02°EGrès et Sables Piquetés — 48.63°N, 4.95°ELulworth — 50.62°N, 2.25°WDurlston — 50.60°N, 1.97°WSandgate — 51.24°N, 0.57°WPinilla de los Moros — 42.15°N, 3.17°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Iguanodon has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 4 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 33 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Iguanodon and its relatives

Early Cretaceous

Where Iguanodon and its relatives were recorded in the Early Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

392 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 124 sites for Iguanodon, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

87 references

Each of the 133 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 75 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Iguanodon

Credit
Ben2
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Photogrammetry

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Iguanodon bernissartensis · AMNH:FARB:6818

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itAnkylopollexia through timeFormations of the Early CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Mantell 1825