Rhabdodon

Holozoa

Rhabdodon Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
R. priscus skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	†Ornithischia
Suborder:	†Ornithopoda
Family:	†Rhabdodontidae
Genus:	†Rhabdodon Matheron, 1869
Species
†R. priscus Matheron, 1869 †R. septimanicus Buffetaut & Le Loeuff, 1991

Rhabdodon septimanicus fossil

Rhabdodon priscus restoration

Rhabdodon priscus fossils in place on a skeletal restoration

Rhabdodon (meaning "fluted tooth") is a genus of dinosaur that lived in Europe approximately 70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. It is unclear whether it was an iguanodont or a hypsilophodont, and may be a "missing link" between the two. Current evidence indicates it is an iguanodont similar to Tenontosaurus. Rhabdodon priscus is the type species; another species, described in 1991, is R. septimanicus (Buffetaut and Le Loeuff), but these may be the same animal. Rhabdodon lived in Spain, France, and on Haţeg Island in Romania. Remains of a very similar dinosaur (femur and limb bone fragments) are also known from the Czech Republic^[1]. It was smaller than its relatives, possibly due to the insular environment that existed in Europe during the Cretaceous period.

Paleobiology

Rhabodon was probably the dinosaurian equivalent of a deer. They were similar in size to deer, in relation to their size compared to the predators of the time and place. These predators included the small Pyroraptor and the gigantic Tarascosaurus.

In popular culture

Rhabdodon was featured in an episode of the Discovery Channel Series Dinosaur Planet, but was referred to as a "Dwarf Iguanodon".

References

1. ^ http://dinosaurus.bloguje.cz/748912-prvni-kosterni-pozustatky-dinosaura-v-cr.php

• Brinkmann, W., 1986. Rhabdodon Matheron, 1869 (Reptilia, Ornithischia): Proposed conservation by suppression of Rhabdodon Fleischmann, 1831 (Reptilia, Serpentes). Case 2536. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 43: 269-272.
• ICZN, 1988. Opinion 1483. Rhabdodon Matheron, 1869 (Reptilia, Ornithischia): Conserved. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 45: 85-86.
• Thescelosaurus! on Rhabdodon

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