Iguanodontidae

Iguanodontidae 

a family of extinct reptiles of the order Ornithischia (bird-hipped dinosaurs). The Iguanodontidae existed at the end of the Jurassic and in the first half of the Cretaceous period. Large (measuring up to 10 m long), herbivorous reptiles, they walked on their hind extremities. The structure of their teeth resembled that of the present-day lizard the iguana. There were five genera comprising many species. Iguanodontidae were the ancestors of the hadrosaurs (duckbill dinosaurs). Numerous remains of Iguanodontidae have been found in Western Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. In Belgium (Bernis-sart) 29 skeletons have been unearthed; they represent one of the best collections of fossil vertebrates.

REFERENCES

Rozhdenstvenskii, A. K. “Novye iguanodonty iz Tsentral’noi Azii.” Paleontologicheskii zhurnal, 1966, no. 3.
Osnovy paleonlologii: Zemnovodnye, presmykaiushchiesia i ptitsy. Moscow, 1964.
Casier, E. Les Iguanodons de bernissart. Brussels, 1960.

A. K. ROZHDENSTVENSKII