Iguanodon Dinosaur Facts

Video Transcript

"Now we have two unusual Dinos. First, the Iguanodon who was found in the early Cretaceous Period, and that would have been perhaps a hundred and twenty to a hundred and ten million years ago. Basically an American Dinosaur stood ten to fifteen feet tall, another one that weighed five to ten tons. He actually liked to live in the swamps, could walk on all fours, or climb trees and walk upright. Notice that on each thumb he has a very pronounced protective claw. Again, for ripping, shredding vegetation and also for defending himself. He was one of the first Dinosaurs actually identified. The name Iguanodon means Iguana tooth, even though he's not actually related to the iguana. And again, his tail was off the ground when he was moving. A friendly vegetarian who lived in herds. Another critter right here is he Parasauralophus, which means beside ridged Dino, is what was called a Hadrosaur, and they had many different characteristics. His is the most pronounced. And again this is a creature that lived approximately sixty-five to seventy-five million years ago. Might have encountered T-Rex, he was in the upper or late Cretaceous Period. And again probably lived in herds and was a vegetarian. And could stand upright. The question is, with this particular creature, what was that horn for? Was it just decorative, or was it possibly serving another purpose? Well one idea was that it was a snorkel, and that he actually entered the water. But in all analysis of the horns, which were about three feet in length, very pronounced, they never found any opening so he would have drowned if he went into the water. It was not a snorkel. However, they've found inner tubes that connect to his nose and they think it actually helped him make sounds such as alerting other Dinos to danger from a predator such as T-Rex. Or perhaps trying to communicate with them that he's found food. But the horn did serve a purpose, but not as a snorkel. Yes. Parasauralophus and the Iguanodon."