Hadrosauridae

Hadrosauridae, is a family of ornithischian dinosaurs informally referred to as duck-billed dinosaurs. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includes genera such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus, was a common group of herbivores during the Late Cretaceous Period. Hadrosaurids are descendants of the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaurs and had a similar body layout. Hadrosaurs were among the most dominant herbivores during the Late Cretaceous in Asia and North America, and during the close of the Cretaceous several lineages dispersed into Europe, Africa, and South America.

Hadrosauridae

David Ceballos from Madrid, España · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
hadrosauridPBDB
Sits inside
HadrosauroideaPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Ornithopoda
Life habit
ground dwelling, gregariousPBDB, for Ornithischia
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Ornithischia
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Ornithischia

Time the record covers

At least 96 million years on record.

The record covers at least 168.2 Mya to 72.2 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 174.7 Mya to 66 Mya.

Early Jurassic — about 0 of 1633 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 1 of 1633 occurrencesMiddle JurassicLate Jurassic — about 0 of 1633 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 15 of 1633 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 1617 of 1633 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 0 of 1633 occurrences177–173 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences173–169 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences169–166 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences147–143 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences143–139 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences139–135 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences135–132 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences132–128 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences128–124 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences124–120 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences120–117 Mya — about 1 occurrence117–113 Mya — about 2 occurrences113–109 Mya — about 2 occurrences109–105 Mya — about 3 occurrences105–102 Mya — about 4 occurrences102–98 Mya — about 15 occurrences98–94 Mya — about 19 occurrences94–90 Mya — about 31 occurrences90–86 Mya — about 20 occurrences86–83 Mya — about 125 occurrences83–79 Mya — about 320 occurrences79–75 Mya — about 320 occurrences75–71 Mya — about 319 occurrences71–68 Mya — about 316 occurrences68–64 Mya — about 134 occurrences168.2 Mya72.2 Mya177 Mya64 Mya

1,633 occurrences of Hadrosauridae on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1,633 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

196 formations

Dinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.46°WDinosaur Park — 50.73°N, 111.53°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 50.78°N, 111.33°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.82°N, 111.57°WDinosaur Park — 50.69°N, 111.62°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.44°WDinosaur Park — 50.57°N, 111.51°WDinosaur Park — 49.45°N, 110.82°WDinosaur Park — 51.44°N, 110.39°WDinosaur Park — 51.47°N, 110.39°WDinosaur Park — 52.45°N, 109.17°WDinosaur Park — 49.35°N, 110.56°WDinosaur Park — 50.60°N, 111.62°WDinosaur Park — 48.03°N, 110.24°WDinosaur Park — 50.68°N, 108.09°WDinosaur Park — 49.94°N, 110.28°WDinosaur Park — 50.40°N, 111.10°WHell Creek — 47.70°N, 106.23°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 45.14°N, 102.50°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 45.98°N, 103.75°WHell Creek — 46.18°N, 103.84°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.13°WHell Creek — 48.06°N, 105.40°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.58°N, 106.30°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.87°N, 106.18°WHell Creek — 47.64°N, 106.70°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 47.54°N, 107.17°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 106.76°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.09°N, 100.63°WHell Creek — 47.75°N, 106.20°WHell Creek — 45.06°N, 103.45°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 106.80°WHell Creek — 47.61°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 45.38°N, 105.30°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 47.66°N, 107.34°WHell Creek — 46.50°N, 103.87°WHell Creek — 46.24°N, 107.38°WHell Creek — 47.64°N, 106.57°WHell Creek — 47.34°N, 108.22°WHell Creek — 45.05°N, 101.97°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.64°N, 103.49°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 45.05°N, 102.19°WHell Creek — 45.00°N, 103.19°WHell Creek — 47.19°N, 104.97°WHell Creek — 47.10°N, 104.65°WKirtland — 36.27°N, 108.17°WKirtland — 36.34°N, 108.08°WKirtland — 36.10°N, 108.09°WKirtland — 36.50°N, 108.08°WKirtland — 36.18°N, 107.89°WKirtland — 36.37°N, 108.26°WKirtland — 36.17°N, 107.80°WKirtland — 36.31°N, 108.05°WKirtland — 36.14°N, 107.80°WKirtland — 36.39°N, 108.07°WKirtland — 36.52°N, 108.41°WKirtland — 36.49°N, 108.32°WKirtland — 36.20°N, 108.10°WKirtland — 36.29°N, 108.54°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.29°N, 108.10°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.27°N, 108.17°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.22°N, 108.07°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.06°N, 107.96°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.33°N, 108.05°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.28°N, 108.26°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.02°N, 107.64°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.15°N, 107.83°WFruitland/Kirtland — 35.91°N, 106.54°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.17°N, 107.96°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.23°N, 107.94°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.02°N, 107.80°WFruitland/Kirtland — 35.90°N, 107.46°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.24°N, 108.19°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.14°N, 108.11°WFruitland/Kirtland — 35.92°N, 107.39°WFruitland/Kirtland — 36.84°N, 107.77°WCerro del Pueblo — 26.12°N, 101.12°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.47°N, 101.70°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.47°N, 101.42°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.51°N, 101.34°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.50°N, 101.75°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.70°N, 101.40°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.67°N, 101.30°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.93°N, 101.22°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.38°N, 101.47°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.62°N, 101.05°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.45°N, 101.68°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.57°N, 101.33°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.50°N, 102.35°WCerro del Pueblo — 26.18°N, 101.28°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.51°N, 102.18°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.55°N, 101.41°WCerro del Pueblo — 25.43°N, 101.29°WTwo Medicine — 47.82°N, 112.66°WTwo Medicine — 48.63°N, 113.75°WTwo Medicine — 48.48°N, 112.70°WTwo Medicine — 48.91°N, 112.64°WTwo Medicine — 48.97°N, 112.65°WTwo Medicine — 48.65°N, 112.97°WTwo Medicine — 47.77°N, 112.29°WTwo Medicine — 47.81°N, 112.18°WTwo Medicine — 48.48°N, 112.58°WTwo Medicine — 48.46°N, 112.47°WTwo Medicine — 47.63°N, 112.58°WTwo Medicine — 48.74°N, 112.73°WTwo Medicine — 48.30°N, 112.34°WTwo Medicine — 48.94°N, 112.65°WTwo Medicine — 47.99°N, 112.28°WTwo Medicine — 47.72°N, 112.33°WTwo Medicine — 48.61°N, 109.68°WTwo Medicine — 48.35°N, 112.65°WTwo Medicine — 48.46°N, 112.07°WTwo Medicine — 47.82°N, 112.50°WTwo Medicine — 48.48°N, 112.43°WTwo Medicine — 47.71°N, 112.24°WTwo Medicine — 47.81°N, 112.42°WTwo Medicine — 48.21°N, 112.60°WLance — 43.35°N, 104.48°WLance — 43.49°N, 104.46°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 42.58°N, 105.39°WLance — 43.17°N, 104.91°WLance — 43.27°N, 104.59°WLance — 44.09°N, 109.18°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 37.58°N, 111.83°WLance — 45.93°N, 103.92°WLance — 43.15°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 45.75°N, 101.20°WLance — 43.49°N, 104.61°WLance — 45.04°N, 108.80°WLance — 45.67°N, 101.48°WLance — 43.00°N, 104.50°WLance — 43.27°N, 104.65°WLance — 42.97°N, 105.53°WLance — 45.67°N, 101.39°WLance — 45.10°N, 104.92°WLance — 45.48°N, 104.19°WLance — 45.33°N, 103.98°WLance — 45.35°N, 105.24°WLance — 45.43°N, 103.38°WLance — 45.52°N, 103.50°WLance — 45.60°N, 103.63°WLance — 45.41°N, 103.72°WLance — 45.34°N, 103.72°WLance — 42.09°N, 106.88°WLance — 44.61°N, 107.98°WLance — 43.44°N, 104.41°WLance — 41.91°N, 104.20°WLance — 41.73°N, 104.37°WLance — 42.88°N, 105.85°WLance — 45.46°N, 103.84°WAguja — 29.14°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.20°N, 103.55°WAguja — 29.32°N, 103.52°WAguja — 29.20°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.29°N, 103.55°WAguja — 29.57°N, 102.95°WAguja — 29.45°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.09°N, 103.13°WAguja — 29.41°N, 103.09°WAguja — 29.45°N, 103.35°WAguja — 29.16°N, 103.03°WAguja — 29.41°N, 103.30°WJudith River — 48.95°N, 110.62°WJudith River — 47.74°N, 109.62°WJudith River — 47.81°N, 109.59°WJudith River — 48.92°N, 110.58°WJudith River — 46.47°N, 109.30°WJudith River — 46.46°N, 109.41°WJudith River — 46.10°N, 109.10°WJudith River — 46.40°N, 109.66°WJudith River — 47.77°N, 108.95°WJudith River — 46.24°N, 109.59°WJudith River — 48.57°N, 109.99°WJudith River — 48.56°N, 107.78°WJudith River — 48.60°N, 107.90°WJudith River — 48.01°N, 108.91°WJudith River — 48.66°N, 110.11°WJudith River — 45.82°N, 111.63°WJudith River — 47.94°N, 109.67°WJudith River — 45.33°N, 104.03°WJudith River — 46.28°N, 109.51°WJudith River — 46.29°N, 109.32°WJudith River — 45.52°N, 104.47°WJudith River — 46.76°N, 108.00°WJudith River — 48.57°N, 107.74°WJudith River — 43.64°N, 109.35°WJudith River — 49.00°N, 110.54°WJudith River — 47.90°N, 109.00°WJudith River — 47.60°N, 109.46°WJudith River — 48.54°N, 109.67°WJudith River — 47.26°N, 109.59°WJudith River — 48.83°N, 110.13°WJudith River — 48.98°N, 110.19°WJudith River — 48.66°N, 109.94°WJudith River — 48.89°N, 110.22°WOldman — 50.77°N, 111.53°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WOldman — 50.60°N, 111.62°WOldman — 49.28°N, 112.20°WOldman — 50.71°N, 110.13°WOldman — 50.64°N, 110.91°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.41°WOldman — 50.86°N, 111.14°WOldman — 49.07°N, 110.45°WOldman — 50.81°N, 111.61°WOldman — 50.69°N, 111.62°WOldman — 49.03°N, 110.66°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.55°N, 112.87°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.91°N, 113.01°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.65°N, 112.91°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.38°N, 112.52°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.82°N, 112.98°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.75°N, 112.96°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.45°N, 113.55°WHorseshoe Canyon — 52.00°N, 112.88°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.46°N, 112.67°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.34°N, 113.89°WHorseshoe Canyon — 49.95°N, 113.04°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.63°N, 112.93°WHorseshoe Canyon — 53.25°N, 113.83°WNemegt — 43.60°N, 100.46°ENemegt — 43.53°N, 101.04°ENemegt — 43.49°N, 101.28°ENemegt — 43.87°N, 100.01°ENemegt — 43.82°N, 99.98°ENemegt — 43.87°N, 100.13°ENemegt — 43.47°N, 99.83°ENemegt — 43.50°N, 101.05°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.36°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.46°ENemegt — 43.86°N, 100.23°ENemegt — 43.44°N, 100.37°ENemegt — 43.85°N, 100.48°ENemegt — 43.61°N, 100.57°ENemegt — 43.99°N, 101.28°EConques — 42.16°N, 1.06°WConques — 42.27°N, 0.73°EConques — 42.16°N, 1.05°EConques — 42.15°N, 1.00°EConques — 42.12°N, 1.05°WConques — 42.16°N, 1.00°EConques — 42.15°N, 1.01°WConques — 42.13°N, 0.92°EConques — 42.32°N, 0.57°EConques — 42.35°N, 0.52°EConques — 42.38°N, 0.39°EFruitland — 36.49°N, 108.51°WFruitland — 36.26°N, 108.17°WFruitland — 36.25°N, 108.06°WFruitland — 35.95°N, 108.00°WFruitland — 36.21°N, 105.64°WFruitland — 36.27°N, 108.26°WFruitland — 37.86°N, 110.10°WFruitland — 36.22°N, 108.07°WFruitland — 36.00°N, 107.00°WFruitland — 36.63°N, 108.48°WFruitland — 36.70°N, 108.42°WFruitland — 36.12°N, 107.78°WFruitland — 36.29°N, 108.55°WFruitland — 36.51°N, 108.32°WAguja — 28.94°N, 103.37°WAguja — 28.92°N, 103.34°WAguja — 28.83°N, 103.30°WAguja — 28.62°N, 103.45°WAguja — 28.99°N, 103.31°WAguja — 29.00°N, 103.82°WAguja — 28.98°N, 103.38°WAguja — 28.77°N, 103.44°WAguja — 29.37°N, 104.27°WWahweap — 37.59°N, 112.90°WWahweap — 37.63°N, 112.12°WWahweap — 37.45°N, 111.53°WWahweap — 37.56°N, 111.71°WWahweap — 37.60°N, 111.61°WWahweap — 37.60°N, 111.90°WWahweap — 37.20°N, 111.61°WWahweap — 37.22°N, 111.53°WWahweap — 37.29°N, 111.58°WWahweap — 37.45°N, 111.82°WWahweap — 37.60°N, 111.35°WWahweap — 37.23°N, 111.68°WLa Posa — 42.17°N, 0.90°ELa Posa — 42.27°N, 0.73°ELa Posa — 42.08°N, 0.80°ELa Posa — 42.32°N, 0.58°ELa Posa — 42.35°N, 0.52°EWapiti — 55.26°N, 118.51°WWapiti — 55.08°N, 119.53°WWapiti — 55.09°N, 119.99°WWapiti — 55.09°N, 118.93°WWapiti — 54.93°N, 119.45°WWapiti — 54.73°N, 119.92°WWapiti — 55.06°N, 119.11°WWapiti — 54.15°N, 115.33°WWapiti — 55.05°N, 119.37°WWapiti — 55.07°N, 118.69°WBissekty — 42.12°N, 62.66°EBissekty — 42.54°N, 63.30°EBissekty — 42.02°N, 63.30°EBissekty — 42.60°N, 63.47°EBissekty — 41.68°N, 63.82°EFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WAllen — 39.30°S, 67.53°WAllen — 38.03°S, 67.82°WAllen — 40.06°S, 66.80°WAllen — 39.75°S, 66.75°WAllen — 40.02°S, 66.71°WAllen — 39.50°S, 67.37°WAllen — 39.43°S, 67.29°WAllen — 38.76°S, 67.98°WForemost — 50.07°N, 111.14°WForemost — 49.13°N, 110.87°WForemost — 50.05°N, 110.77°WForemost — 49.75°N, 111.67°WForemost — 49.60°N, 111.00°WForemost — 49.49°N, 111.40°WForemost — 49.57°N, 111.97°WForemost — 49.69°N, 112.35°WForemost — 50.86°N, 111.14°WForemost — 50.13°N, 111.71°WForemost — 49.90°N, 111.64°WKaiparowits — 37.68°N, 111.78°WKaiparowits — 37.64°N, 111.86°WKaiparowits — 37.67°N, 111.73°WKaiparowits — 37.45°N, 111.53°WKaiparowits — 37.47°N, 111.70°WKaiparowits — 37.46°N, 111.34°WKaiparowits — 37.40°N, 111.20°WNavesink — 39.76°N, 75.13°WNavesink — 39.75°N, 75.31°WNavesink — 40.31°N, 74.22°WNavesink — 40.30°N, 74.34°WNavesink — 40.40°N, 74.03°WNavesink — 40.38°N, 74.21°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Hadrosauridae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 172 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 112 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Hadrosauridae and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Hadrosauridae and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

881 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,482 sites for Hadrosauridae, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

572 references

Each of the 1,633 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 560 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Hadrosauridae

Credit
David Ceballos from Madrid, España
Licence
CC BY 2.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Structured light scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Hadrosauridae indet. · dmnh:epv:149330

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itHadrosauroidea through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Cope 1869)