Camptosaurus Characteristics

The largest camptosaurs were more than 7.9 metres (26 feet) long, and 2 metres (6.6 feet) high at the hips. Their average weight was 785 - 875 kilograms. They had heavy bodies, however, as well as walking on 4 legs (quadrupedal), they could rear up to walk on 2 legs (bipedal) using their long tails as a counter-weight. This would have left its forelimbs free for feeding. Camptosaurus had a long snout and a horned beak. Its hind legs were much longer than its forelimbs which were used more like arms than legs. Camptosaurus had 4 toes on its hind feet and 5 fingers on their forelimbs. Their forelimbs were prehensile and could have been used to grasp vegetation as it was feeding. Camptosaurus lacked the dorsal spines that were common in many other iguanodontids and their claws were more curved and less hoof-like than other iguanodontids and hadrosaurs.

Camptosaurus dinosaurs were herbivourous. They probably ate cycads with their parrot-like beaks. Their skulls were quite large and long. Camptosaurus teeth were more tightly packed together in their jaws compared with other Morrison Formation ornithopods, with thick median ridges on their lateral sides and denticles along their edges. It had no teeth in the front of its mouth, but the strong teeth in the side of its jaw helped to grind the plant material. These features were similar to those of the Dryosaurus. Camptosaurus teeth exhibit wear, which indicates that individuals in this genus had a diet of relatively tough vegetation. Their thumb was a small spur rather than the conelike spike developed in Iguanodon.

Based on studies of other iguanodonts, scientists believe Camptosaurus may have been able to achieve running speeds of 25 kilometres per hour (15 miles per hour). Camptosaurus may have lived in a herd and was an ornithopod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight) was average among the dinosaurs.

Camptosaurus fossils have been found in North American and Europe. A tiny 9 inch fossilized Camptosaurus embryo was retrieved from Morrison Formation strata at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. Many fossils of Camptosaurus have been found, in different stages of development.

Originally described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879 as Camptonotus, or 'bent back', it was renamed Camptosaurus in 1885 because the original name was already in use for a cricket.

The name Camptosaurus was mentioned in a museum scene from Escape from the Planet of the Apes. The curator of the museum described 'Campto', meaning 'flexible' and 'Saurus', meaning 'lizard'.