Rhabdodon
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
that lived in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
approximately 70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
. It is unclear whether it was an iguanodont
Iguanodont
Iguanodonts were herbivorous dinosaurs that lived from the mid-Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. Some members include Camptosaurus, Callovosaurus, Iguanodon, Ouranosaurus, and the hadrosaurids or "duck-billed dinosaurs". Iguanodonts were one of the first groups of dinosaurs to be found...
or a hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodont
Hypsilophodonts were small ornithopod dinosaurs, regarded as fast, herbivorous bipeds on the order of 1–2 meters long . They are known from Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, North America, and South America, from rocks of Middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous age...
, and may be a "missing link
Missing Link
Missing link is a nonscientific term for any transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution; see Transitional fossil - Missing links and List of transitonal fossils - Human evolution.Missing Link may refer to:...
" between the two. Current evidence indicates it is an iguanodont similar to Tenontosaurus
Tenontosaurus
Tenontosaurus is a genus of medium- to large-sized ornithopod dinosaur. The genus is known from the late Aptian to Albian ages of the middle Cretaceous period sediments of western North America, dating between 115 to 108 million years ago...
. Rhabdodon priscus is the type species; another species, described in 1991, is R. septimanicus (Buffetaut and Le Loeuff), but these may be the same animal. Rhabdodon lived in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and on Haţeg Island
Hateg Island
Hațeg Island was a large offshore island in the Tethys Sea during the Cretaceous period. It was situated in an area corresponding to the region around modern-day Hațeg, Romania...
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Remains of a very similar dinosaur (femur and limb bone fragments) are also known from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It was smaller than its relatives, possibly due to the insular environment that existed in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during the Cretaceous period.
Paleobiology
Rhabodon was probably the dinosaurian equivalent of a deer. They were similar in size to deer, in relation to their size compared to the predators of the time and place. These predators included the small PyroraptorPyroraptor
Pyroraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of France. It is known from a single specimen. It was found in 1992 in the south of France, in Provence, and is known only from a few bones. It was named Pyroraptor olympius by Allain and Taquet in 2000. The name means...
and the gigantic Tarascosaurus
Tarascosaurus
Tarascosaurus is a genus of, perhaps abelisaurid, theropod dinosaur from Late Cretaceous of France.After having in 1988 identified an upper jaw bone found near Pourcieux as belonging to a member of the Abelisauridae, French paleontologist Eric Buffetaut reviewed the known remains of larger...
.