Protiguanodon

first Iguanodon

• proto- · Greek · first, earlier
• Iguanodon · Greek · iguana tooth, the genus Iguanodon

The name combines the Greek prefix "proto-" (first, early) with Iguanodon, the well-known European ornithopod. Osborn chose it because he thought the Mongolian animal was a primitive, early relative of Iguanodon. It was later recognised as a small horned dinosaur (a ceratopsian) rather than an iguanodontian.

Named by

Osborn

Year named

1923

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Mongolia

Protiguanodon (type species P. mongoliense) is now regarded as a junior synonym of Psittacosaurus, the parrot-beaked ceratopsian, specifically Psittacosaurus mongoliensis. It is not a separate valid genus.