Hadrosauridae: The Duck-Billed Dinosaurs

dinosaurs · herbivores · Late Cretaceous · dino teeth

Duck-bill snouts. Hadrosaurids got their nickname from the flat, broad bones in their snouts that looked just like a duck's bill. This special shape helped them munch on tough plants.

Champion chewers. These dinosaurs had hundreds of tiny teeth packed together in their jaws, stacked in rows like a grinding mill. They could chew tough ferns and plants that other dinosaurs couldn't eat.

Ruled the world. Hadrosaurids were the most common large plant-eaters across Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous Period. By the end of that era, they had spread all the way to Europe, Africa, and South America.

Lived in herds. Many hadrosaurids likely traveled and ate together in big groups, similar to how modern buffalo roam in herds. This helped them stay safe from predators.

Really huge. Some hadrosaurids like Edmontosaurus grew as long as a school bus, making them some of the biggest plant-eaters ever to walk the Earth.