Duck-billed dinosaurs, or hadrosaurs, belong to one of the most diverse families of dinosaurs. They were also the first type of dinosaur whose fossilized skeletons were discovered in North America by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden during his expeditions from 1854 to 1856 around the Judith River.
Paleontologists determined that duck-billed dinosaurs were active from the Late Cretaceous period onwards and descendants of iguanodontian dinosaurs active from the Upper Jurassic to the Lower Cretaceous eras. One of the most unique things about hadrosaurs was that despite the wide variety of dinosaurs present in the family, all of them were herbivorous.
Some common hadrosaurs included Parasaurolophus, Corythosaurus, and the type species Hadrosaurus.
List of the Different Types of Duck-billed Dinosaurs
- Acristavus gagslarsoni
- Adelolophus hutchisoni
- Adynomosaurus arcanus
- Amurosaurus riabinini
- Anasazisaurus horneri
- Anatotitan copei
- Aquilarhinus palimentus
- Aralosaurus tuberiferus
- Arenysaurus ardevoli
- Augustynolophus morrisi
- Bactrosaurus johnsoni
- Barsboldia sicinskii
- Blasisaurus canudoi
- Bonapartesaurus rionegrensis
- Brachylophosaurus canadensis
- Canardia garonnensis
- Charonosaurus jiayinensis
- Cionodon arctatus
- Cionodon stenopsis
- Corythosaurus casuarius
- Corythosaurus intermedius
- Diclonius pentagonus
- Edmontosaurus annectens
- Edmontosaurus regalis
- Eolambia caroljonesa
- Eotrachodon orientalis
- Fylax thyrakolasus
- Gobihadros mongoliensis
- Gryposaurus latidens
- Gryposaurus monumentensis
- Gryposaurus notabilis
- Hadrosaurus agilis
- Hadrosaurus foulkii
- Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens
- Hypacrosaurus altispinus
- Hypacrosaurus stebingeri
- Hypsibema missouriensis
- Jaxartosaurus aralensis
- Jintasaurus meniscus
- Kamuysaurus japonicus
- Kazaklambia convincens
- Kerberosaurus manakini
- Koutalisaurus kohlerorum
- Kritosaurus navajovius
- Kundurosaurus nagornyi
- Laiyangosaurus youngi
- Lambeosaurus clavinitialis
- Lambeosaurus lambei
- Lambeosaurus magnicristatus
- Lapampasaurus cholinoi
- Latirhinus uitstlani
- Lophorhothon atopus
- Mandschurosaurus amurensis
- Magnapaulia laticaudus
- Maiasaura peeblesorum
- Malefica deckerti
- Naashoibitosaurus ostromi
- Nanyangosaurus zhugeii
- Nipponosaurus sachalinensis
- Olorotitan arharensis
- Ornatops incantatus
- Pararhabdodon isonensis
- Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus
- Parasaurolophus tubicen
- Parasaurolophus walkeri
- Penelopognathus weishampeli
- Plesiohadros djadokhtaensis
- Probrachylophosaurus bergei
- Prosaurolophus maximus
- Rhinorex condrupus
- Riabininohadros weberae
- Sahaliyania elunchunorum
- Saurolophus angustirostris
- Saurolophus osborni
- Secernosaurus koerneri
- Shantungosaurus giganteus
- Tanius sinensis
- Tanius chingkankouensis
- Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus
- Tethyshadros insularis
- Tlatolophus galorum
- Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus
- Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis
- Velafrons coahuilensis
- Wulagasaurus dongi
- Xuwulong yueluni
- Yamatosaurus izanagii
- Zhuchengosaurus maximus
FAQs
1. Did duck-billed dinosaurs lay eggs? Like all other dinosaurs, hadrosaurs laid eggs. As a matter of fact, an entire nesting colony of duck-billed dinosaurs was discovered in Montana, including several unhatched eggs, giving paleontologists a good idea of what they looked like.
2. What did the teeth of the duck-billed dinosaurs look like? Despite colloquially being referred to as “duck-bills,” these dinosaurs had teeth that resembled modern cows or sheep. This led to the realization that these dinosaurs most likely exhibited grazing behavior like those animals.
3. Did all duck-billed dinosaurs have crests? Certain duck-billed dinosaurs are known for their unique crests, like Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, which used their crests to produce amplified sounds to communicate with other members of their species. However, not all hadrosaurs had crests on their heads, like Hadrosaurus, Maiasaurus, and Bactrosaurus, which lacked them.
