Fun Iguanodon Facts For Kids

The Iguanodon is a famous dinosaur species. They inhabited the Earth from the Late Jurassic to the early Cretaceous period. They were found in the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia.

They were herbivorous dinosaurs in nature. The Iguanodon had a comparatively smaller head, big body, big tail, two hands, and two legs. For protecting themselves, they had a conical spike on their thumb. They used it to stab their predators.

They could walk on both two and four legs with the same level of mastery. They were tranquil natured dinosaurs who spent most of their time chewing leaves. Some very common predators were the Tyrannosaurus rex and the various raptor species.

This was just a small introduction to this dinosaur. For more details, read the whole article. We have interesting and funny facts about this dinosaur which will make you amazed.

For more relevant articles, read our Ichthyovenator facts and Heterodontosaurus facts for kids.

Iguanodon Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Iguanodon'?

The Iguanodon is a very famous dinosaur and Iguanodon pronunciation is very easy. It is pronounced as 'Ig wana don'. Iguanodons were ornithopod dinosaurs that were present on Earth from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period. They were present on Earth and roamed around North America, Europe, and Asia.

What type of dinosaur was an Iguanodon?

Iguanodons were herbivorous dinosaurs according to their fossil studies. They were inhabitants of the Earth around 126-122 million years ago. They belonged to clade Dinosauria and Ornithopoda. They were in the order Ornithischia and family Iguanodontidae. Their genus name is Iguanodon and their scientific name is Iguanodon bernissartensis.

In which geological period did the Iguanodon roam the Earth?

The Iguanodon dinosaur species inhabited the Earth from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period. This herbivore animal species was present on Earth around 126-122 million years ago. They were bipedal at the same time and could walk on four legs.

When did the Iguanodon become extinct?

Iguanodons were ornithopod dinosaurs that followed a plant-based diet and were present on Earth during the Late Jurassic to Early cretaceous period around 126-122 million years ago. According to paleontology, after that time, their number decreased and eventually their population was wiped out.

Where did an Iguanodon live?

The Iguanodon evolved as a herbivore and roamed the land in search of food. They were group feeders that would have inhabited forest areas and open grasslands where their food was present in adequate quantity.

What was an Iguanodon's habitat?

Iguanodons were herbivorous dinosaurs that were present on Earth around 126-122 million years ago. The Iguanodon habitat belonged to the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia. Their first fossils, their teeth, were discovered in England. They inhabited places with good food availability.

Who did an Iguanodon live with?

These dinosaurs, Iguanodon, were very much social animals. They lived in their natural habitats in big groups. Because of their size and a good amount of meat, they faced too much predation. To minimize the chance of getting killed and eaten, this species lived in groups.

How long did an Iguanodon live?

Iguanodons were several feet long herbivore dinosaurs. According to research, they inhabited the world during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period. They had an average lifespan of around 25 plus years. They are one of the most famous dinosaurs in modern time.

How did they reproduce?

Iguanodons were herbivorous reptiles that existed in the continent of North America, Europe, and Asia and were big dinosaurs. We know that reptiles reproduce by laying eggs.

The Iguanodon would have done the same too. We can assume that after their breeding season, they also would have laid eggs to summon their young ones to this world. How dinosaurs reproduced is one such question that can't be exactly answered.

Iguanodon Fun Facts

What did an Iguanodon look like?

The Iguanodon fossil (teeth) was first discovered in England. Later more remains were discovered in other places.

The Iguanodon were plant-eating relatively big dinosaurs who had amazing and unique body features. Iguanodon dinosaurs were tetrapod animals at the same time and could be bipedal. They could easily their walking posture from bipedality to quadrupedality and vice versa.

Iguanodon size is somewhat related to an elephant. The Iguanodon skull or head was small but not that much. Their skull was long and their mouth was duck-billed.

The Iguanodon had big and strong teeth in their mouth. Iguanodon teeth were so strong and well built that when these teeth were discovered, no one believed that these were of a plant-eating animal.

They had a curved neck and a huge body. Their body was biconcave and was large and heavy.

They had a long and fat tail attached to their body which looked quite amazing. Their latus part was quite big. The Iguanodon hand was amazing.

They used them to get good access to their food and they used them for holding and protecting themselves while in dual and could also use them while walking. They could easily walk on their hind limbs (legs) and at the same time could use their hands for walking.

Their hind limbs (legs) were bigger than their hands and that's why formed a slope from their waist to their shoulder when walking on four legs.

For self-defense, they had sharp thumb spikes and finger nails. The Iguanodon body length was around 30 ft (9.1 m) and their body weight was around 4-5 tons (3628.7-4535.9 kg).

How many bones did an Iguanodon have?

Studies on the Iguanodon skeleton say that they were herbivorous dinosaurs who lived during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period. There is no exact information noted on how many bones they had. Average dinosaurs had around 200 bones in their body.

How did they communicate?

There is no exact answer available to this question. They were grazing reptiles, so they might have had a sheep or goat-type voice. They also would have had a screeching voice. Who knows!

How big was an Iguanodon?

Iguanodon height was more than a fully grown man. They were grazing dinosaurs with a relatively small head, a huge body, a long tail, and four feet, actually, first two were hands but they could use them as feet.

They had good external features with a body length range around 30 ft (9.1 m) and body weight around 4-5 tons (3628.7-4535.9 kg).

How fast could an Iguanodon move?

From the study of the fossils, it was known that the Iguanodon was capable of running at a speed of 15 mph (24.1 kph). The Iguanodon could move on both two and four legs but for attaining a good speed, it had to run on two feet.

How much did an Iguanodon weigh?

The Iguanodon can be nearly related to an elephant. Their body length range was near 30 ft (9.1 m) and their body weight was near 4-5 tons (3628.7-4535.9 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no special names assigned to the males or females of this dinosaur species. They are commonly known as Iguanodon. They were several feet in length.

What would you call a baby Iguanodon?

Like all other baby dinosaurs, baby Iguanodon dinosaurs were also known as hatchlings.

What did they eat?

The Iguanodon diet was mainly derived from the plant. They were grazing dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous. They commonly ate plants, grass, fruits, and veggies. They were not carnivores.

How aggressive were they?

Probably not that much. They were grazing herbivores who ate plants. They bore a calm nature and avoided indulging in fights.

Did you know...

The Iguanodon with the help of their foot spike could plough the land well.

Iguanodon fossils were first discovered in England in 1822. It was discovered by Gideon Mantell and his wife Mary Ann.

The Iguanodon tooth was the first fossil to be discovered.

Did Iguanodon live in herds?

Most probably yes. They lived in herds for attaining protection against their natural predators. Living in herds makes it easier to search for food also.

How did the Iguanodon defend itself?

Iguanodon dinosaurs were equipped with some features which protected them from their natural predators. The first thing were their thumb spikes. They used the spike against their natural predators to stab them. The second thing is their ability to switch between bipedality to quadrupedality and vice versa to escape the situation quickly.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Incisivosaurus facts or Yinlong facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Iguanodoncoloring pages.