Iguanacolossus

Say it like this: “ih-GWAHN-uh-col-OSS-us”

Iguanacolossus fortis

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

Quiz me on Iguanacolossus

When: Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian) · roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago
Named in: 2010 · McDonald, A. T.; Kirkland, J. I.; DeBlieux, D. D.; Madsen, S. K.; Cavin, J.; Milner, A. R. C.; Panzarin, L.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 9 m · 30 ft
Weight: 5 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Cedar Mountain
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Styracosterna

The story in short

In 2010, A. T. McDonald and colleagues published the name Iguanacolossus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Iguanacolossus date to the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian), roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Cedar Mountain Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Iguanacolossus at a length near 9 m and a body mass around 5 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Bayannurosaurus

Bayannurosaurus perfectus

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago

Calvarius

Calvarius rapidus

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

Cedrorestes

Cedrorestes crichtoni

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago