Protohadros: Research Database
Hadrosauroidea (Dinosauria) · Late Cretaceous (~95 MYA) · North America — Texas (助攻 Bench)
Research Note: Protohadros was a hadrosauroid from the Late Cretaceous of Texas — an early non-hadrosaurid ornithischian and an important taxon for understanding hadrosauroid evolution in North America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Butler & Zhao 2008: Protohadros and new data on hadrosauroid evolution from the Cretaceous of North America
Butler & Zhao 2008 provide comprehensive data on Protohadros from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, establishing it as an early hadrosauroid and documenting ornithischian evolution in the Cretaceous of North America
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Confirmed | A | 2008 | Fossil | Butler & Zhao, Cretaceous Research | Evolution |
|
Rozadilla et al. 2021: Protohadros and additional data on Cretaceous ornithischian paleobiology
Rozadilla et al. 2021 provide additional data on Protohadros and Cretaceous ornithischian paleobiology, further contextualising its significance within Hadrosauroidea
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Confirmed | B | 2021 | Fossil | Rozadilla et al., Cretaceous Research | Paleobiology |
Active Debate: Hadrosauroid Evolution in the Cretaceous of North America
Whether Protohadros is a basal hadrosauroid is debated. The evolution of hadrosauroids in the Cretaceous of North America — and the origin of duckbilled dinosaurs — is key to understanding ornithischian history.
What We Still Do Not Know About Protohadros
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Diet: Herbivore.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Crest function: Unknown.
In Depth
Protohadros is a genus of medium to large ornithopod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Protohadros means ‘first hadrosaur)’, and reflects the idea at the time of its description that the genus may represent the earliest true hadrosaur in North America. However, since Protohadros has been named, several new discoveries have now discredited the idea that Protohadros was the first. Today Protohadros is usually classed as a hadrosauroid (Hadrosauroidea), meaning that while it was similar and a close relative of true hadrosaurid (Hadrosauridae) dinosaurs, it was still too primitive in features to be one.
Protohadros would have been a plant eating dinosaur that mostly walked around on four legs, but could still rear up on just the two hind legs in order to feed on high vegetation, or perhaps run from predators. The main predatory threats to Protohadros would have been predatory dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurs and dromaeosaurs.
Further Reading
- A primitive hadrosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Cenomanian of Texas and its implications for hadrosaurian phylogenetic and biogeographic histories. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(3, supplement): 40A. - J. J. Head - 1996. A new species of basal hadrosaurid (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Cenomanian of Texas. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18(4):718-738 - J. J. Head - 1998.
