Mantellisaurus

dinosaur · Early Cretaceous · plant-eater · Europe

Two-legged plant-eater. Mantellisaurus was a member of a dinosaur family called iguanodontians, which means it ate plants and walked mostly on its hind legs, using its tail to balance like a kangaroo.

Lighter than Iguanodon. Even though it looked similar to the famous Iguanodon, Mantellisaurus was more slender and graceful, built more like a nimble runner than a bulky giant.

European fossil star. Scientists found many nearly complete skeletons of Mantellisaurus in Belgium, England, Spain, and Germany, giving us wonderful clues about how it lived and moved.

Named after a fossil hunter. The dinosaur was named to honor Gideon Mantell, a brilliant scientist who discovered the first Iguanodon fossils and helped us understand these amazing ancient creatures.

Early Cretaceous times. Mantellisaurus lived between about 130 and 125 million years ago, during a time when dinosaurs ruled the world and Europe looked very different than today.