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ig-WAN-o-don                   IGUANODON                   [Iguana Tooth]
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     In 1822, in Sussex, England, workers at a gravel quarry began
to unearth some incredibly large fossilized teeth.  At first it was
thought that they belonged to an ancient rhinoceros.  Then it was noticed 
that the teeth resembled those of the American iguana; only much, much 
larger.
     Soon gigantic bones were also discovered.  It became obvious
that they were the remains of some huge prehistoric beast.  The giant reptile 
walked on all fours and resembled the small American iguana.
     One of the most curious bones to be found was a large cone-shaped
spike.  In the original reconstruction of the Iguanodon the spike was placed
in the middle of the beast's forehead, like a horn. Sometime later a complete 
Iguanodon skeleton was unearthed with its two curious spikes in place.  It 
was then realized that these were the dinosaur's thumbs and were probably 
used for defense.  Now it is believed that the Iguanodon stood upright on its 
hind legs.
     The Iguanodon was a herbivore that grazed low to the ground.  It
lived during the Cretaceous Period (about 100 million years ago) and was
related to the duck-billed dinosaurs.
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