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Two-footed Plant Eaters
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Although most plant-eating dinosaurs walked on all fours, there was a large group that could walk on two feet. These had a hip-bone with a gap beneath, so the big plant-digesting gut could be carried between the legs and the animal could still balance.
These upright dinosaurs, such as Iguanodon, evolved in the late Triassic period but they really came into their own in Cretaceous times. The later types had very strong grinding teeth and cheek pouches, so that they could eat tough conifer needles.
(A) HEAVY TWO-FOOTED DINOSAURS
Big two-footed plant eaters, like the 9.8 metres long Iguanodon, lived in herds. They may have spent some of their time on all fours. They used their beaklike snout to tear off leaves.
(B) THUMB SPIKE
The hand was shaped like a boxing glove with a spike for a thumb, which they used in fights.
(C) SPRINTERS
Lightweight plant eaters, like the 1.8 metres long Hypsilophodon, were built to run fast to escape danger.
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Previous:
Back
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Book:
Prehistoric Life
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Section:
Prehistoric
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Chapter:
Two-Footed Plant Eaters
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