Hypsilophodon Characteristics

Hypsilophodon was a relatively small dinosaur and was only around 6 Feet (2.3 metres) in length and weighed 50 - 70 kilograms (110 - 150 pounds). Like most small dinosaurs, Hypsilophodon was bipedal and ran on 2 legs. Its entire body was built for running, a light-weight, minimized skeleton, low, aerodynamic posture, long legs and stiff tail for balance all would have allowed it to travel incredibly fast for its size. Hypsilophodon had a beak made from horn. Its skull was small around 12 centimetres long and 5 centimetres wide. It may have had 2 rows of bony plates running down its back. It also had large eyes and strong jaws.

Hypsilophodon had some rather primitive features for a Cretaceous dinosaur such as having 5 digits on each hand and only 4 on each foot. Most dinosaurs had lost these redundant features by the Cretaceous. It also had pointed teeth in the front of the jaw. Most herbivores of this time had lost these and developed just the specialized teeth for chewing plant matter.

Hypsilophodon was a small bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet. Due to its small size, Hypsilophodon fed on low-lying vegetation, most likely preferring young shoots and roots much like the modern day deer. The structure of its skull, with the teeth set far back into the jaw, strongly suggests that it had cheeks, an advanced feature that would have facilitated the chewing of food. There were 28 to 30 ridged teeth in the dinosaurs jaw which, due to their alternate arrangement, appear to have been self-sharpening also the teeth were continuously replaced.

Hypsilophodon was an ornithopod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was midway among the dinosaurs.

The first remains of Hypsilophodon were recovered in the early days of paleontology in 1849. However, at the time, the bones were thought to belong to a young Iguanodon. It was not until 1870 that paleontologist T. H. Huxley was able to publish a full description of Hypsilophodon as we know it today. Early paleontologists modeled the body of this small, bipedal, herbivorous dinosaur in various ways. In 1882 some paleontologists suggested that, like a modern tree-kangaroo, Hypsilophodon was able to climb trees in order to seek shelter.

A bonebed of about 20 Hypsilophodon fossils were unearthed together on the Isle of Wight. This probably means that a herd of Hypsilophodon must have died together.

The level of parental care in this dinosaur has not been defined, although a neatly-arranged nest has been found, suggesting that some care was taken before hatching. Fossils of large groups have been found, so it is likely that the animals moved in herds. For these reasons, the hypsilophodonts, particularly Hypsilophodon, have often been referred to as the 'deer of the Mesozoic'.

Hypsilophodon was named by Thomas Huxley in 1869.