Protohadros

Say it: proh-TOH-had-ros

Name means: “first hadrosaur”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Cretaceous

Protohadros was an early duck-billed dinosaur that lived about 95 million years ago. It had a special downward-curved snout for munching on low-growing plants. This dinosaur is one of the oldest hadrosaurs ever found!2 1

Lived

100 to 94 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Texas, USA4 1

Food

Plants4 2

Length

6 m1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 33 bananas end to end

How big was Protohadros compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Protohadros is the oldest definite hadrosaurid, or duck-billed dinosaur, known to science.2

Its name means 'first hadrosaur' because it lived so early in hadrosaur evolution.1

This dinosaur had a downward-pointing muzzle, which scientists think helped it eat plants close to the ground.2

Protohadros had a mix of primitive and advanced skull features, showing a step in the evolution of chewing ability.2

Its fossils were found in the Woodbine Formation of Texas, which was a delta environment during the Cretaceous.2

The only known species is Protohadros byrdi, named after the person who discovered it.1

AI-made picture of Protohadros — An AI-made picture of how Protohadros might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Protohadros

?How big was Protohadros?

It was a medium sized dinosaur, about 6 to 8 metres (20 to 26 feet) long.3 1

?What did Protohadros eat?

It was an herbivore that ate low-growing plants, probably in floodplains or deltas. It may have also eaten aquatic plants.3 2

?When did Protohadros live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 99 to 94 million years ago.1 3

?Where was Protohadros found?

Its fossils were found in the Woodbine Formation of Texas, USA.3 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Protohadros
Named by: Head 19984
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Hadrosauroidea4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia4
Age of the rocks: 100 to 94 million years (Cenomanian)4
Rock formations: Lewisville4
Countries: USA4
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Protohadros was named by paleontologist J. J. Head in 1998, based on a partial skull and some bones from the Woodbine Formation in Texas.4 2
Still debated: Scientists debate whether hadrosaurs first evolved in North America or Asia, and Protohadros is a key piece of that puzzle.2

Where the facts come from

Protohadros | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
A new species of basal hadrosaurid (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Cenomanian of Texas: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol 18, No 4 (tandfonline.com)
Protohadros (en.wikipedia.org)
Protohadros in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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