Hadrosaurus

Say it like this: “HAD-ro-SAWR-us”

Hadrosaurus foulkii

Hadrosaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

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When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 1858 · Leidy, J.
Hip height: 2.4 m · 8 ft
Length: 7–8 m · 23–26 ft
Weight: 2–4 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Woodbury
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauridae

The story in short

Hadrosaurus was formally named in 1858 by J. Leidy. The name means “bulky lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Woodbury Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Hadrosaurus at a length near 7–8 m, hips about 2.4 m high, and a body mass around 2–4 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Hadrosauridae, among the ornithopod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Aquilarhinus

Aquilarhinus palimentus

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Arstanosaurus

Arstanosaurus akkurganensis

Late Cretaceous (Santonian · Campanian) · roughly 85.7 to 72.2 million years ago

Barsboldia

Barsboldia sicinskii

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago