Meet Hadrosaurus

            In 1868, the hottest ticket in town was to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Before that year about 30,000 people visited the museum annually. But in 1868, attendance more than doubled to 66,000. The next year it soared to 100,000. What was it that people stood in line for hours to see? The first complete dinosaur skeleton ever displayed to the public: Hadrosaurus. People stared in awe. It was three stories tall! Philadelphia had to build a bigger museum to have room for the crowds.

            Hadrosaurus was found in New Jersey in 1858. And at that time, it was the most complete dinosaur skeleton that had ever been found in the whole world.

            What do we know about it today? It was just an average duckbill dinosaur. It didn’t even have a crazy crest like some duckbill dinosaurs. Its head was flat.

            It grew about 23-26 feet long and could have weighed 2-4 tons. Its back legs were much longer than its front legs. It could walk on just its hind legs or on all four legs. The front of its mouth was a beak, covered in keratin, just like your fingernails. This helped it nip off plants, which it ground up with its large teeth. It traveled in herds. 

            The original pose was upright. But we now think it probably stood like this, with the tail balancing the head:

            When it was first displayed almost everyone was thrilled to see it – but that’s almost. A copy of Hadrosaurus was made and was supposed to go on display in 1871 in New York City. But it never did. One of the most powerful men in New York in that day, William Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, ordered members of his gang to destroy the skeleton. No one knows why. They tore it apart and tossed the pieces of it into a nearby lake.

            Today Hadrosaurus doesn’t cause any controversy. People know it as just an average dinosaur. But New Jersey is proud that it is its state dinosaur, and people still flock to see it.

            Can you draw a duckbill dinosaur head with a crazy crest? Please put one in the comment section or message me on Facebook at Janet Riehecky

            To learn more about dinosaurs, please visit here once a week. Please also visit my web site: www.janetriehecky.com