Iguanodon

iguana tooth

• iguana · Taíno (via Spanish/English) · iguana
• odon · Greek · tooth

The name means "iguana tooth". Gideon Mantell's teeth, found in southern England, resembled those of the modern iguana lizard, though they were much larger. He chose the name because of this resemblance, which was one of the first clues about what these huge extinct reptiles were like.

Named by

Mantell

Year named

1825

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Southern England (Wealden), with other material from Belgium, Germany and elsewhere in Europe

One of the first dinosaurs ever named. The type species is I. anglicus; the famous Bernissart skeletons from Belgium are now assigned to Iguanodon bernissartensis. Several species once placed in Iguanodon have since been moved to other genera.