Rhabdodon

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Ornithischia > Genasauria > Neornithischia > Cerapoda > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia > Rhabdodontomorpha > Rhabdodontoidea > Rhabdodontidae

Overview: Rhabdodon is the namesake of the family Rhabdodontidae, as well as to a larger clade known as the Rhabdodontomorpha. These dinosaurs were iguanodontian ornithopods, so they were relatives of the famous Iguanodon, though they were a lot more “primitive” in comparison, though most confirmed rhabdodontids lived towards the end of the Cretaceous. They likely split off from other iguanodonts much earlier. Most of the rhabdodontids were small to medium-sized ornithopods, probably subsisting on ground-level vegetation. They often had simple, yet sturdy teeth and deep jaws. Unlike more derived iguanodonts, Rhabdodon and its kin appear to have been strictly bipedal animals, their arms being quite short, though they could probably crouch to graze. Rhabdodontids were at their most successful in Europe during the Late Cretaceous.

The first known fossils of Rhabdodon were found in the 1840’s, when a team of workers in France were excavating what would later be a railroad tunnel. Scientists at first associated the find with the genus Iguanodon, but it would soon become clear the animals were fairly different. In 1869, a formal description of Rhabdodon as its own genus was published. The name of the creature means “fluted tooth”, referring to a prominent grove than ran along its teeth. Similar features can be seen on some of its rhabdodontid relatives. Potential kin included genera like Mochlodon and Zalmoxes, though the status of the latter has recently been called into question (one species of Zalmoxes has since been reclassified as a new ceratopsian genus, unrelated to Rhabdodon). Fossils attributed to Rhabdodon are mainly known from geological formations in France and Spain.