Iguanodon was the first plant-eating dinosaur ever discovered, and the second dinosaur to be named. A sharp spike on its thumb provided a useful defensive weapon against predators. It occupied Europe during the Early Cretaceous, 125 million years ago.
History: Iguanodon was originally thought to be a lumbering four-legged monster, similar to an iguana, with a horn on its nose. Later discoveries of complete articulated skeletons led to it being regarded as a biped with a posture more like a kangaroo, and the horn on its nose was correctly identified as a thumb spike. Today, Iguanodon is thought to have walked on four legs most of the time – the early 19th century palaeontologists were right about that after all!
Scientific Name: Iguanodon bernissartensis
Characteristics: Iguanodon is a herbivorous dinosaur, 10 m long - the size of a small bus. It could walk on two long back legs, but spent most of its time on all fours, as our Iguanodon toy depicts. It has a horny beak and leaf-shaped teeth, similar to those of a modern iguana. It has a long tail and short arms with five-fingered hands. Most of its claws are blunt and hoof-like, but it has a sharp thumb spike.
Size: This Iguanodon toy model is 18.4 cm long and 7 cm high.