Article Tuesday

From articles on new species propositions to findings in Utah and the evolution of thumb spiked dinosaurs, Iguanodon is one of the most referenced dinosaurs in history due, in part, to it relatively early discovery and also due to its common appearance during the time in which it thrived. Iguanodon was, for all intents and purposes, as common as the dog is now. Dogs are everywhere now, Iguanodon was everywhere when it reigned as the pinnacle of herbivorous evolution. Though eventually unseated by even more sophisticated Hadrosaurs, Ceratopsians, Pachycephalosaurs, and even more Sauropods, Iguanodon and its closest relatives were the best herbivores of their time thanks to those special dental batteries and cheeks. Richard Owen had a great deal to say about Iguanodon in his book on British dinosaurs entitled A History of British Fossil Reptiles (this is linked to volume 1). Science, thankfully, has continued to advance and now one can even learn about the histological history of Iguanodon in articles such as Abnormal Histology in an Iguanodon Caudal Centrum from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, which means the study of the microscopic tissues and cells found in the fossil, in case you weren't aware! The last article I've found today is on the heart of the matter that surrounds Iguanodon, its impact on the culture of the world.