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A duckbilled dinosaur,\u00a0Hadrosaurus foulkii<\/i>\u00a0roamed the forests and swamps along the bays of New Jersey’s ancient seacoast. Today its bones are found in ancient marine deposits with fossil seashells. It was about twenty-five feet long, probably weighed 7 to 8 tons and stood about 10 feet tall. We think\u00a0Hadrosaurus<\/i>\u00a0stood on its hind feet when running, but used it front feet to support its head while grazing. Its abundant blunt teeth confirm that\u00a0Hadrosaurus<\/i>\u00a0was a vegetarian, a peaceful plant eater that could chew tough-stemmed twigs and leaves.\u00a0Hadrosaurus<\/i>\u00a0lived about 80 million years ago late in the Cretaceous Period.<\/p>\n
Hadrosaurus is a famous dinosaur because it was the most complete dinosaur skeleton unearthed anywhere in the world when it was discovered and scientifically documented in 1858. It was also became the first mounted dinosaur skeleton displayed anywhere in the world in 1868!<\/p>\n
Hadrosaurus foulkii became the official State dinosaur of New Jersey in 1991 after years of hard work by a teacher, Joyce Berry, and her fourth grade classes at Strawbridge Elementary School in Haddon Township. As a result of their efforts, New Jersey has a truly unique symbol of its prehistoric past.<\/p>\n