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3[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hypsilophodonbrussels.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:One of the [[{{Irony}} hugest]] dinosaurs known.]]
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5Among non-hadrosaur/non-''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Iguanodon]]'' ornithopods, the ones you've more chances to see in media are: ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Hypsilophodon]]'' (the prototype of the "hypsilophodonts" aka small-slender members of the group, pictured above); ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Camptosaurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Dryosaurus]]'' & ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Nanosaurus]]'' (the three iconic hadrosaur predecessors from the Late Jurassic; the first was big and Iguanodon-like, the second was medium-sized and Hypsilophodon-like, the latter was tiny and ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifePrimitiveOrnithischians Lesothosaurus]]''-like): ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tenontosaurus]]'' (looking like it's in the middle between an ''Iguanodon'' and a ''Hypsilophodon'', but with a distinctively long tail); and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Ouranosaurus]]'' (with an evident crest on its back, it's traditionally considered an "iguanodont" but was actually closer to hadrosaurs). Among the other examples, the "iguanodont" ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Muttaburrasaurus]]'' and the "hypsilophodont" ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Leaellynasaura]]'' (both Australian) were portrayed in 1999 by ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', while ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Orodromeus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Thescelosaurus]]'' (both "hypsilophodonts") have had notable ScienceMarchesOn stories. Extremely recent research says even ''Hypsilophodon'' and other animals of this page are too primitive to be true ornithopods.
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7''Hypsilophodon'' (no bigger than an adult human) is classically countered against ''Iguanodon'', which is the traditional prototype of the “[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanodontia iguanodonts]]” (large/heavy non-hadrosaurian ornithopods). [[ScienceMarchesOn Now scientists have found]] “[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsilophodont hypsilophodonts]]” is an artificial assemblage, while “iguanodonts” now indicates a natural group including not only the most ''Iguanodon''-like animals but also [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs duckbills]], pre-duckbills and also some traditional “hypsilophodontians” like ''Dryosaurus''.
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13[[folder:Non-Stock Hadrosaur Predecessors]]
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17'''Iguanodons Everywhere?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantellisaurus Mantellisaurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altirhinus Altirhinus]]''
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19* Since its first discovery made in the first decades of the XIX Century, ''Iguanodon'' remains have been found everywhere from Africa to Mongolia, Europe and North America; ''Series/ChasedByDinosaurs'' added some sorta iguanodons even in South American settings - even though some iguanodontians ''are'' known from South America, they were much smaller. ScienceMarchesOn however, and now many of these ''Iguanodon'' species have been reclassified in other genera, while a formerly distinct iguanodontid genus, "Vectisaurus" from Early Cretaceous England, is now classified within ''Iguanodon''. Several genera from Europe have been created as an homage to some of the greatest XIX century paleontologists - at the time, dinosaur remains were mainly from ''Iguanodon''s. So we have ''Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis'' from Gideon Mantell (''Iguanodon''’s TropeNamer); formerly "Iguanodon atherfieldensis", it was found in the same coal mine near Bernissart in Belgium in which the 30 or so skeletons of the more robust ''Iguanodon bernissartensis'' have been dug out.[[note]]In the same mine were found the teeth of ''Craspedodon'', a putative iguanodontian which could be an unusually European ceratopsian according to recent research.[[/note]] Then, ''Owenodon'' from Richard Owen (dinosaurs’ TropeNamer), and ''Dollodon'' from Louis Dollo, the guy who described the famous iguanodonts found in the “Dinosaur Mine” in Belgium as erect bipedal beasts. However, ''Dollodon'' is very likely the same as ''Mantellisaurus''. Another former ''Iguanodon'' species has been renamed "Huxleysaurus" (after Thomas Henry Huxley, supporter of Darwin's theory of evolution), but this name is unofficial at present. Other Europeans were named for their unique physical characteristics, such as ''Hypselospinus'' ("tall spines") and ''Barilium'' ("heavy hips"). The North American ''Iguanodon lakotaensis'' was renamed ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakotadon Dakotadon]]'' after the state it was found in. A similar fate befell another South Dakotan iguanodont: ''Osmakasaurus'', from the same rock unit as ''Dakotadon'', was originally named as a species of ''Camptosaurus''. True camptosaurids include ''Bihariosaurus'' from Romania, ''Draconyx'' from Portugal, and maybe North American ''Theiophytalia''. Finally, the Mongolian specimen "Iguanodon orientalis" has been renamed ''Altirhinus kurzanovi''. As with most former ''Iguanodon'' specimens, ''Altirhinus'' was actually closer to hadrosaurs than to ''Iguanodon''. Indeed its name, “high nose”, was given from its humped nose similar to the duckbill ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Gryposaurus]]'' or the more primitive ornithopod ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Muttaburrasaurus]]''. Interesting that Kron (the villainous ''Iguanodon'' in WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}) has a hump-nose that could mean he’s actually an ''Altirhinus''.
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23'''The First Hadrosaur?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protohadros Protohadros]]''
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25* ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Ouranosaurus]]'' is the most well-known among those middle-ways between ''Iguanodon'' and hadrosaurs called “basal hadrosauroids”, and was actually closer to duckbills than to ''Iguanodon'' despite sharing thumbspikes with the latter (though less-developed than the Iguanodon's ones). Unlike true hadrosaurs whose teeth were in number of ''hundreds'' and crammed in "batteries", ''Ouranosaurus'' and the other pre-hadrosaurs had less-numerous teeth placed in one single line on each half-jaw -- the primitive condition of almost all the non-hadrosaur dinosaurs. Among the other possible basal hadrosauroids, other than ''Altirhinus'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs Probactrosaurus]]'', are also worth of mention ''Protohadros'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eolambia Eolambia]]'', both discovered in 1998 in the USA. The former was initially considered the earliest hadrosaur (its name just means “the first hadrosaur”); the latter received a similar treatment, initially described as the first ancestor of crested hadrosaurs (''Eolambia'' means "dawn lambeosaurine"). Both ''Protohadros'' and ''Eolambia'' are believed even closer to true hadrosaurs than ''Ouranosaurus'' was, just like some near-duckbills mentioned in the [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs hadrosaur]] section of Prehistoric Life.
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29'''Heavy Aquatic Dinosaur:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurdusaurus Lurdusaurus]]''
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31* The heavily-built ''Lurdusaurus'' (informally named "Gravisaurus" before its official description: both names mean "heavy lizard") seems very closely-related to ''Iguanodon'', even though shared its habitat with ''Ouranosaurus'' in North Africa. Interestingly, ''Lurdusaurus'' seems showing adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle, which is unusual for ornithischian dinosaurs. It had indeed the shape rather like a hippopotamus, with huge body sustained by short strong legs. It was as big as ''Iguanodon'' but less tall, thanks to its shorter legs. It is also worthy of note because of its gigantic thumbspikes. Interesting that the aquatic hyp was also made for another ornithischian, the basal ceratopsian ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeCeratopsidPredecessors Koreaceratops]]'' from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Korea]]: found only in 2012, its describer believed it was actually a ''marine'' dinosaur. Today, thanks to the most recent findings, the saurischian ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' is known to have been a ''really'' sea-dwelling dinosaur.
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35'''Dwarf Iguanodont:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdodon Rhabdodon]]''
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37* As a whole, non-hadrosaurian ornithopods have been found everywhere, even in Antarctica (as we'll see later). Almost all the main dinosaurian faunas had at least one known ornithopod: even the famous Late Cretaceous islets which were where today is Central Europe. ''Rhabdodon priscus'' was a sort of “dwarf iguanodont”, a primitive spike-less iguanodontian analogue to the earlier ''Dryosaurus'' and ''Tenontosaurus''; it was a late-surviving form which managed to reach the K/T extinction event just thanks to its insulation and absence of competition from the much more evolved hadrosaurs. But wait: some hadrosaurs are ''actually'' known as well from that habitat, such as ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs Telmatosaurus]]''; only, they too were small and primitive. From the same fauna are the close ''Rhabdodon'' relatives ''Mochlodon'' and ''Zalmoxes'', making together the Rhabdodontids.
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41'''The Most Ancient?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callovosaurus Callovosaurus]]''
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43* On the other hand, the 3/4 m long ''Callovosaurus'' found in England comes from a far more ancient period: the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic (hence the name). It was one of the most ancient iguanodontians known: once considered a camptosaurid, it's actually more closely related to ''Dryosaurus''. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdosaurus Valdosaurus]]'' ("Weald lizard") was another dryosaurid, also English but Early Cretaceous (like ''Hypsilophodon''); some alleged "Valdosaurus" remains were found in Africa, too. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangnasaurus Kangnasaurus]]'' was bigger, and lived in Early Cretaceous South Africa: known from scanty remains, it owes its name from a local Ranch. ''Phyllodon'', ''Alocodon'', ''Taveirosaurus'', and ''Trimucrodon'' from Portugal are known only from teeth, and are thus hard to classify.
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47'''Chinese Gazelle:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yandusaurus Yandusaurus]]''
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49* An even more primitive ornithopod from the same period of ''Callovosaurus'' was the Chinese “hypsilophodont” ''Yandusaurus'', once considered the most basal true ornithopod known to science. It was originally named "Yubasaurus", but since that name was not made official, ''Yandusaurus'' got the precedence. Other “hypsilophodonts" from the same fauna were also too primitive to be real ornithopods. The most scientifically-known is ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agilisaurus Agilisaurus]]'' ("agile lizard"); others are ''Xiaosaurus'', ''Gongbusaurus'', and ''Hexinlusaurus''. From Early Cretaceous China comes the enigmatic true-ornithopod ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeholosaurus Jeholosaurus]]'' (named after the geological formation it was dug out), whose pointed frontal teeth seem indicating an omnivorous diet. It appears as a prey of the "gliding raptor" ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirdlikeTheropods Sinornithosaurus]]'' in Series/PlanetDinosaur.
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53'''Icy Amnesia:''' the "Polar Hypsilophodon"
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55* Let’s not forget the “Mysterious Antarctic Dino”. In year 1987, just one year after the ankylosaur named ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Antarctopelta]]'' in 2006, [[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/abs/an-ornithopod-dinosaur-from-the-late-cretaceous-of-west-antarctica/460B7DC007270FB20C11EA3081CDD381 the second Antarctic dinosaur was found]], described as a “polar hypsilophodont”; the thing is, it has had an even worse fate than the ankylosaur itself. At least, after 20 years of waiting, the latter ''has'' received a name; the polar "hypsy" ''has yet to wait a formal naming and description'', and sadly seems to be almost forgotten today. In classic textbooks the "polar Hypsilophodon" is usually depicted with a shape very similar to the real ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Hypsilophodon]]'', but being it still-undescribed, we cannot say much about its life apart from the fact that was Late Cretaceous like its neighbor ''Antarctopelta''.
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59'''Plane-Traveler:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qantassaurus Qantassaurus]]''
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61* Partially compensating, several small bipedal ornithischians have been then discovered in other southern continents, the best-known being ''Leaellynasaura''. It was found in 1989 in Australia along with the single lower jaw of the larger ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlascopcosaurus Atlascopcosaurus]]'', so-called from the Atlas-Copco Corporation that funded its excavation. Another Australian "hypsilophodont" described in 1999 is ''Qantassaurus'' ("Qantas Lizard": its name is a homage to Qantas, the LandDownUnder airlines). However, there's another relative discovered in Australia at the start of the XX century, but is known only from a femur: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgurotherium Fulgurotherium]]'' (the "lightening beast"). Its name is odd because recalls more that of a prehistoric mammal (''"[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Megatherium]]"'', ''"[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Uintatherium]]"'', ''"[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Hyracotherium]]"'', and so on) than that of a dinosaur.
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65'''Feminine Dinosaurs:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasparinisaura Gasparinisaura]]''
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67* About South American discoveries, apart from the enigmatic ''Loncosaurus'' (found as well in the early XX century but described from a single femur mixed with a theropod tooth), there are few non-hadrosaur ornithopods found in the 1990s or later, the largest one being the 6 m long ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrogryphosaurus Macrogryphosaurus]]''. Another is meaningfully named ''Notohypsilophodon'', the "Southern Hypsilophodon". Curiously, one small South American ornithopod described in 1996 [[FollowTheLeader has got]] a feminine name reminiscent of ''Leaellynasaura'': ''Gasparinisaura'' ("Gasparini's lizard"). Since that other small ornithischians around the world have received the suffix "-saura", for example "Bugenasaura" (now regarded as a synonym of ''Thescelosaurus'') and, last example, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinisaura Trinisaura]]'', found in Antarctica in the earliest part of 2013 (this one has immediately received a name). Well, [[TheUnfairSex Unfair Sex]] -related names do fit better for [[AnimalMotifs these graceful “gazelle dinos”]] rather than the badass-looking ([[AnimalMotifs and very masculine]]) ankylosaurs.
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