Iguanodon

Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~

Iguanodon was on the larger size of hadrosaurs, reaching an average length of 30 feet and a weight of 5 short tons. Iguanadons have large powerful arms about 75% the length of their legs. Having 4 fingers just like us but the first three fingers were merged together and bent forward to support its weight as it walked on them. Iguanodons were Facultative bipeds meaning they walked mostly quadrupedally but could run bipedally. The pinkie finger sat away from the rest and was flexible just like ours, helping Iguanodon grasp things. But the most interesting part about their hands was the large thumb claw that points outwards making Iguanodon the best dinosaur at giving a thumbs up (Second place is Lambeosaurus). These thumb spikes were used for defense by stabbing its predators in vital areas like the neck and stomach. It’s these versatile arms that gave iguanodon the competitive advantage over other ornithischians allowing them to defend themselves easily, graze from trees and from the ground and standing bipedal gave them increased awareness from seeing farther and a higher top speed. Although I'm not certain about why it went extinct in the early Cretaceous and later be replaced by non thumb spiked hadrosaurs.

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