Iguanodon

Name & Basics
Genus: Iguanodon

Name Means: Iguana Tooth

Lived During: Jurassic Period to Cretaceous Period This dinosaur will come up in the middle third of the World of Dinosaurs Fall 2020 course. See the syllabus for more.

Anatomy

 * Check out the unusual thumb spike on it's forelimbs. This feature was quite mysterious upon first discovery and was the focus of a number of interpretations that, while we may think of them as comical today, are an important showcase for how we go about it assessing what a fefature may be and how our interpretations evolve.
 * Check out Scott Hartman's fantastic Skeleton reconstruction here: https://www.skeletaldrawing.com/ornithiscians/iguanodon

Phylogeny
Here's a hierarchical view. Click the links for more info, including cladograms.

Dinosauria


 * Ornithischia
 * Ornithopoda
 * Iguanodontidae

Biomechanics

 * What is the thumb spike for?
 * Look at some of the features in its skull that are forming that basis for more derived forms of chewing we'll be seeing in other ornithopods