IGUANODON
(ig-WA-no-don)
Iguanodon lived about
125 million years ago. It was the second dinosaur to ever be named. Its
name means "Iguana Tooth" and was given to it because the teeth in the
back of its jaws are similar to a current day iguana’s.
Iguanodon was up to
30 feet long and stood 16 feet high, almost as high as a giraffe. It weighed
about 5 tons, or the same weight as 2 hippopotamuses, and looked like
a chubby, overgrown kangaroo. It walked mostly on all four legs, but it
could run fast on its back legs and stand tall to eat leaves off of high
branches. Iguanodon pulled plants into its mouth with its long tongue
and snipped them off with its beak. Its main source of protection may
have been from a large spike on each hand where our thumbs are located.
Can you imagine having
spikes instead of thumbs? You would have to be really careful brushing
your teeth!
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