Iguanodon

## *Iguanodon bernissartensis*

★★★★☆

* Burian
* Coastal
* Rusted

## Diet

 Plants

> *"Meet Iguanodon! Largely known for its thick thumb spikes, Iguanodon is capable of quadrupedal and bipedal motion alike, making it a formidable defender."*
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*Iguanodon* is a large herbivorous ornithopod that lived in Europe during the Cretaceous.

## In-Game

### Description

*Iguanodon* is a large and bulky ornithopod famously known for its large thumb spikes on each forelimb. More then capable of fighting back, *Iguanodon* was known to use its spikes in combat, as well as its impressive size and weight. *Iguanodon*'s forelimbs were notably stiff, owing to their use as weapons and as a method of locomotion, but also featured a flexible, grasping finger, functioning similar to a thumb.

In Prehistoric Kingdom, Iguanodon's defensive capabilities are bolstered by speculative strings of large feature scales across its back and sides. Although smaller than most of the hadrosaurs ingame, *Iguanodon* is still a decently large animal.

### In-Game Trivia

*"Iguanodon, one of the first dinosaurs to be formally named…*"

"*This creature's restorations weren't always perfect, though. See those thumb spikes? They were once thought to be nasal horns, sort of like an iguana's. Very wrong, of course… but A+ for name inspiration.*"

"*Iguanodon is also one of the first dinosaurs to be sculpted! The original sculptures can still be seen in Crystal Palace Park in London. The artist behind the sculptures, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, famously hosted an 8-course dinner inside one of the incomplete sculptures on New Years Eve, 1853! How's that for a party?*"

"*Reconstructions of this animal have changed dramatically over the years, from a giant, rhinoceros-like reptilian beast to the beautiful animal you see before you. It really makes you wonder, what will paleontologists discover next to fundamentally change the way we view other dinosaurs?*"

## Paleontology

*Iguanodon* was one of the first dinosaurs to be formally discovered and thus named, making it a historically significant animal. The first few fossils of *Iguanodon* were found in southern England and were rather scattered, the thumb spike was originally believed to be a horn. It was only after over thirty complete skeletons were found in a Belgian mine that the dinosaur's true shape was revealed.

Many species of *Iguanodon* were named in the 1800s in North America, Asia, North Africa and eastern Europe, but these have since been reassigned to new genera, leaving those found in western Europe; in the UK, Spain and Belgium, as the only valid *Iguanodon* species.

*Iguanodon* was named in 1825 and its name means 'iguana tooth'. The specific name of *I. bernissartensis* refers to the location in Belgium where so many well-preserved specimens were found in an ancient sinkhole.

## Gallery

* Photos
* Renders
* Animations
* Concept Art

Iguanodon Species Profile.

Iguanodon walk animation.Iguanodon run animation.

Render of the Rusty Quartz skin for the original Iguanodon.Render of the Burian skin for the original Iguanodon.Render of the Coastal skin for the original Iguanodon.Lineup of all of Iguanodon's original skins.Concept art for the original Iguanodon model.
## Trivia

* It, alongside with Parasaurolophus, Pachyrhinosaurus and Carnotaurus appeared in Disney film Dinosaur. The protagonist is an *Iguanodon* called Aladar.
* Thanks to the spectacular fossil beds of Bernissart in Belgium the complete skeletons give us remarkable insight not just into how these animals looked and moved, but also how they lived. It is thought that the fossil beds represent herds of Iguanodon succumbing to poisonous gasses released periodically from a water source. This is reflected in game by Iguanodon's high exhibit crowding tolerance stat.
* Those same fossils however are deeply susceptible to pyrite decay due to the chemistry of their fossilization, and must be kept in oxygen-free glass cases on display in order to not dissolve from oxidation.