[D] Hadrosaurus foulkii [sG] [T]
Describer
Leidy, 1858
Time
Cretaceous Late Campanian
Classification
Ornithischia Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae Gryposaurini
Diet
Herbivore
Fossilsite
Woodbuury Formation, New Jersey, US
Length
10 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies
Hadrosaurus foulkii (Leidy, 1858) > Ornithotarsus immanis (Cope, 1869)
Single articulated postcranial skeleton, teeth, isolated postcranial material.
The fossil hobbyist William Parker Foulke a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, was during the summer of 1858 (on the eve of the American Civil War) vacationing in Haddonfield, New Jersey, when he heard that twenty years previous, workers had found gigantic bones in a local marl pit on the farm of his friend John Hopkins.
Foulke then investigate the site and with the help of a crew of hired diggers he found several large limb bones, numerous vertebrae, some jaw fragments, and a few teeth of a strange looking animal which was larger than an elephant and had structural features of both a lizard and a bird. Foulke discovery turned out to be the first nearly-complete known skeleton of a dinosaur, this event had a great impact on the scientific world and changed our view of natural history.
Dr Joseph Leidy, also of the Academy, was brought in to study the find recognized the fossils as belonging to a dinosaur like Iguanodon, and he named it Hadrosaurus foulkii, which meant \\\"Foulke\\\'s bulky lizard.\\\" after the discoverer and benefactor. Leidy noted the disparity between the long hind legs and the short front legs and concluded: \\\"The great disproportion of size between the fore and back parts of the skeleton of Hadrosaurus, leads me to suspect that this great extinct herbivorous lizard may have been in the habit of browsing, sustaining itself, kangaroo-like, in an erect position on its back extremities and tail. \\\" This is the first suggestion anywhere that some dinosaurs might have been, at least on occasion, bipedal.
Hadrosaurus foulkii also set another precedent by being the first dinosaur skeleton to be mounted. It was put on display in the Philadelphia Academy of Science in 1868, and gave the public their first glimpse of these massive creatures. The \\\"real\\\" Hadrosaurus foulkii is no longer mounted, the original bones are subject to pyrite disease due to exposure to air. For display, a mounted version was made with casts from the original bones.
Leidy, 1858
Time
Cretaceous Late Campanian
Classification
Ornithischia Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae Gryposaurini
Diet
Herbivore
Fossilsite
Woodbuury Formation, New Jersey, US
Length
10 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies
Hadrosaurus foulkii (Leidy, 1858) > Ornithotarsus immanis (Cope, 1869)
Single articulated postcranial skeleton, teeth, isolated postcranial material.
The fossil hobbyist William Parker Foulke a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, was during the summer of 1858 (on the eve of the American Civil War) vacationing in Haddonfield, New Jersey, when he heard that twenty years previous, workers had found gigantic bones in a local marl pit on the farm of his friend John Hopkins.
Foulke then investigate the site and with the help of a crew of hired diggers he found several large limb bones, numerous vertebrae, some jaw fragments, and a few teeth of a strange looking animal which was larger than an elephant and had structural features of both a lizard and a bird. Foulke discovery turned out to be the first nearly-complete known skeleton of a dinosaur, this event had a great impact on the scientific world and changed our view of natural history.
Dr Joseph Leidy, also of the Academy, was brought in to study the find recognized the fossils as belonging to a dinosaur like Iguanodon, and he named it Hadrosaurus foulkii, which meant \\\"Foulke\\\'s bulky lizard.\\\" after the discoverer and benefactor. Leidy noted the disparity between the long hind legs and the short front legs and concluded: \\\"The great disproportion of size between the fore and back parts of the skeleton of Hadrosaurus, leads me to suspect that this great extinct herbivorous lizard may have been in the habit of browsing, sustaining itself, kangaroo-like, in an erect position on its back extremities and tail. \\\" This is the first suggestion anywhere that some dinosaurs might have been, at least on occasion, bipedal.
Hadrosaurus foulkii also set another precedent by being the first dinosaur skeleton to be mounted. It was put on display in the Philadelphia Academy of Science in 1868, and gave the public their first glimpse of these massive creatures. The \\\"real\\\" Hadrosaurus foulkii is no longer mounted, the original bones are subject to pyrite disease due to exposure to air. For display, a mounted version was made with casts from the original bones.