Hadrosaurus foulkii

Overview

Hadrosaurus, meaning "bulky lizard," was the dinosaur that changed America's view of prehistory! Discovered in 1858 in Haddonfield, New Jersey, it was the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton found in North America and the first dinosaur ever mounted for public display. This humble duck-billed dinosaur sparked dinosaur mania across the United States!

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Taxonomy & Classification

• Clade: Ornithischia
• Family: Hadrosauridae (duck-billed dinosaurs)
• Diet: Herbivorous
• Locomotion: Bipedal and quadrupedal

Hadrosaurus is the original hadrosaur—the entire family is named after it!

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Physical Characteristics

Medium-Large Hadrosaur

• Length: 7-8 meters (23-26 feet)
• Weight: 2,000-4,000 kg (2-4 tons)
• Height: About 3 meters (10 feet) at hip
• Build: Robust with strong legs

Body Features

• Duck-like bill for cropping plants
• Hundreds of teeth arranged in "batteries"
• Strong hind legs for bipedal walking
• Shorter front legs used when grazing
• Probably no head crest (skull never found)

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The Historic Discovery

America's First Dinosaur Skeleton!

Year	Event
1838	First bones noticed in New Jersey marl pit
1858	William Parker Foulke excavates properly
1858	Joseph Leidy names Hadrosaurus foulkii
1868	First dinosaur ever mounted for display!
1991	Becomes New Jersey's state dinosaur

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First Mounted Dinosaur!

The Philadelphia Display

In 1868, Hadrosaurus made history:

• First dinosaur skeleton ever mounted publicly!
• Displayed at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
• Showed dinosaurs could be bipedal (not just four-legged)
• Thousands of people came to see it
• Started dinosaur fever in America!
• Changed how scientists thought about dinosaurs

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Duck-Billed Features

Built for Eating Plants

Hadrosaurus was a vegetation processing machine:

• Beak at front for cropping plants
• Dental batteries with hundreds of teeth
• Teeth constantly replaced (like a shark!)
• Could grind tough plants efficiently
• Ate ferns, conifers, maybe flowering plants

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Two-Legged or Four?

Flexible Walker

Hadrosaurus could walk both ways:

• Bipedal (two legs) for moving quickly
• Quadrupedal (four legs) for grazing
• Back legs much stronger than front
• Front legs still used for support
• Similar to modern kangaroos in flexibility

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Haddonfield, New Jersey

The Discovery Site

• Found in a marl pit (ancient clay deposit)
• The pit was on Joseph Hopkins' farm
• Workers had been finding bones for 20 years before scientific excavation
• Now a National Historic Landmark
• The town has a Hadrosaurus statue!

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Missing Head Mystery

No Skull Found

Interestingly:

• The original skeleton has no skull!
• We don't know if it had a head crest
• Makes classification tricky
• Scientists debate its exact relationships
• Still one of the most important dinosaur finds

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New Jersey's Dinosaur

State Dinosaur!

• Named New Jersey's official state dinosaur in 1991
• A statue stands in downtown Haddonfield
• The town celebrates its dinosaur heritage
• Schools teach about local paleontology
• Proves dinosaurs were everywhere—even New Jersey!

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Cretaceous New Jersey

80 Million Years Ago

Hadrosaurus lived when:

• New Jersey was partially underwater
• Coastal plains along ancient seas
• Warm, humid climate
• Rich forests and swamps
• Alongside tyrannosaurs and other dinosaurs

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Cool Facts

• The first relatively complete dinosaur skeleton in North America!
• The first dinosaur ever mounted for public display (1868)!
• Named the state dinosaur of New Jersey in 1991
• The original fossil has no skull—we've never found one!
• Sparked "dinosaur fever" across America
• The Haddonfield statue was sculpted by a local resident
• Gave the Hadrosauridae family its name
• Proved dinosaurs could walk on two legs

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Hadrosaurus changed everything—the first American dinosaur skeleton that showed the public these ancient creatures were real, mountable, and absolutely fascinating!