The Dinohunters

A History of Dinosaur Hunting and Reconstruction

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Trachodon, Troodon and Deinodon

In 1855 Ferdinand V. Hayden conducted a geological survey along the Judith River in Nebraska (now Montana).  He found a large number of fossilized teeth, which were referred to Joseph Leidy for identification.   Leidy identified and named 8 genera of which 3 turned out to be dinosaurs -

  • Trachodon ('rough tooth') - a hadrosaur
  • Troodon
  • Deinodon - observed to be similar to Megalosaurus

These represent the first North American dinosaur discoveries

dinosaur image

Hadrosaur-like teeth attributed to Trachodon, by Joseph Leidy 1860

trachodon.jpg (14864 bytes)

1903 Restoration of Trachodon (Frederick Lucas)

For further discoveries on Trachodon, see The Trachodon Mummy 1908.