The hadrosaurus was a ten-foot-tall, four-ton herbivore that roamed the southern part of New Jersey 80 million years ago. It had a snout that resembled a beak for consuming foliage and stood ten feet tall. The first dinosaur fossils were discovered in 1787 near Woodbury Creek. In 1818, more discoveries were made in New Jersey.
Hadrosaurus foulkii
In 1991, the state of New Jersey declared the Hadrosaurus foulkii dinosaur as its official state dinosaur. Its skeleton was the first one to be mounted in the United States. Today, it is the only species of the genus. In 2003, a monument to the dinosaur was erected in Haddonfield, NJ. The statue is affectionately known as Haddy, or Haddonfield Dino.
The fossil Hadrosaurus foulkii was discovered in Haddonfield, Camden County, and became the first almost-complete dinosaur skeleton ever discovered in North America. The discovery marked a significant moment in vertebrate paleontology in the late 1800s.
Dryptosaurus
In 2014, the state of New Jersey honored Dryptosaurus as the state’s official dinosaur. The creature’s skeletal remains, which are incomplete, include a jaw, claws, legs and hips. Its fossils are found in New Jersey and are used to reconstruct the animal. Dryptosaurus was originally classified as a member of the megalosaurid family, but later was placed in the Dryptosauridae family.
The Dryptosaur was a predator that was approximately 25 feet long and six to eight feet tall. It weighed 1.7 tons and lived 65 million to 67 million years ago in the Delaware region. The animal was a predator of birds and was closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex. Because of its fast speed, Dryptosaurs were associated with the state’s Dover Air Force Base. The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science has a reconstruction of a dryptosaurid skeleton on display at their PaeloZone.
Discovery
In 1988, a fourth grade teacher from Haddon Township, a town located in the western part of New Jersey, proposed making the hadrosaurus the state fossil. This act marked an important moment in the field of vertebrate paleontology, as it recognized a previously unknown species of dinosaur. In 1991, the bill was approved by the Assembly and the Senate. The new fossil casts were made possible thanks to the generosity of the New Jersey Manufacturers’ Insurance Group.
The hadrosaurus was a large herbivorous dinosaur, weighing in at around seven to eight tons and nearly thirty feet long. This prehistoric creature inhabited New Jersey’s swamps and forests during the Cretaceous period. Fossils of Hadrosaurus have been discovered in New Jersey, North Carolina, and Montana.
Evolution
The evolution of the hadrosaurus, the official dino of New Jersey, can be traced to 1988, when a teacher in Haddon Township, New Jersey, began a fossil project with her fourth-grade students. The teacher, Joyce Berry, wanted to educate the children about fossils and the legislative process.
In 1991, the Hadrosaurus dinosaur was named as the official state dinosaur. In October 1995, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Today, the dinosaur is regarded with a lot of affection in Haddonfield, where an 8-foot-tall statue stands in downtown Haddonfield. It is affectionately called Haddy and is known as the official dinosaur of the town.
Exhibits
The campaign for the Hadrosaurus to be the state dinosaur began in 1988 with fourth grade teacher Joyce Berry. Her goal was to educate her students about dinosaurs and about the legislative process. She was successful in her campaign, and the hadrosaurus is now the official dinosaur of New Jersey.
The Hadrosaurus foulkii was declared the state dinosaur in 1991. It was only the tenth state to do so. Its fossil remains are still kept at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, where Leidy first studied them. The museum has a replica of the fossil on display.
Location
Haddonfield, New Jersey is home to an historic archaeological site known as the Hadrosaurus foulkii Leidy Site. This site is now part of a state-owned park. The first dinosaur bones were discovered here in 1838. The site was fully excavated in 1858 by William Parker Foulke.
The fossil site is located in the woods of Camden County Park, near Haddonfield. It is the site of the first discovery of Hadrosaurus foulkii in New Jersey, and it is now recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The site has a stone marker and plaque commemorating the dinosaur’s discovery.
