Hadrosaurus (, 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 dinosaur skeleton known from more than isolated teeth to be found in
North America. 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.
Description
Hadrosaurus lived in what is now New Jersey,
U.S.A., in the late
Cretaceous Period - around 80
million years ago. 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.
Discovery
In 1838, John Estaugh Hopkins was digging in a
marl pit (on a small tributary of the
Cooper River in
Haddonfield, New Jersey, and part of the
Campanian-age
Woodbury Formation) 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. The excavation site, known as the
Hadrosaurus Foulkii Leidy Site, is now a
National Historic Landmark. Foulke contacted
paleontologist Joseph Leidy, and together they recovered 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. Foulke and Leidy studied the fossils together, and in 1858 Leidy formally described and named
Hadrosaurus foulkii in honor of his collaborator.
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. The skeleton is usually kept 'behind-the-scenes' in the Academy's collections. However, from November 22, 2008 until April 19, 2009, a fully assembled cast of the skeleton and an exhibit about the science and culture surrounding the dinosaur's discovery was open to the public.
Despite the fact that the family Hadrosauridae has Hadrosaurus as its type genus, the skeleton lacks a skull and is too incomplete to compare to other hadrosaurines for classification purposes, leading most scientists to consider it a nomen dubium, or dubious name. When the skeleton was first assembled, it was displayed with a plaster skull sculpted by Hawkins. Many other artists have 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.
In popular culture
' mounted
Hadrosaurus, the first mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world]]
In Michael Crichton's novel
Jurassic Park,
Hadrosaurus is one of the dinosaurs that had been cloned by InGen.
In Eric Garcia's novel Anonymous Rex, Hadrosaurs are one of the sixteen species of dinosaurs that managed to survive the Cretaceous extinction, the most prominent in the novel being one foul-mouthed Hadrosaur named Glenda Wetzel.
References
External links
Hadrosaur mummy
The discovery of H. foulkii
Hadrosaurids on UCMP
New Jersey State Museum website
Joseph Leidy and Hadrodaurus foulkii at The Academy of Natural Sciences
Hadrosaurus foulkii exhibit at The Academy of Natural Sciences
Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs
Category:Dinosaurs of North America
Category:Hadrosaurs
