Where were dozens of Iguanodon skeletons found in 1878?

A coal mine in Bernissart, Belgium

Iguanodon Quiz: Thumb Spikes and an Early Dinosaur Find

This Iguanodon quiz digs into the early days of dinosaur science, when teeth from Sussex puzzled experts. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Gideon and Mary Ann Mantell, its iguana-like teeth, the thumb spike once placed on its nose, the Belgian coal mine find, walking on two or four legs and the Crystal Palace models.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Finder
Who described Iguanodon in 1825?
Place
In which English county were the first teeth found?
Name
What does Iguanodon mean?
Rank
Which early milestone does Iguanodon hold?
Spike
Where was the thumb spike first wrongly placed?
Thumb
What was the thumb spike probably used for?
Mine
Where were dozens of Iguanodon skeletons found in 1878?
Walk
How did Iguanodon move?
Diet
What did Iguanodon eat?
Models
Where were famous early life-size Iguanodon sculptures built?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who described Iguanodon in 1825?
Answer: Gideon Mantell
His wife found early teeth.
Q2: In which English county were the first teeth found?
Answer: Sussex
They came from rock near roads.
Q3: What does Iguanodon mean?
Answer: Iguana tooth
Its teeth looked like an iguana's.
Q4: Which early milestone does Iguanodon hold?
Answer: One of the first dinosaurs ever named
Megalosaurus was named first.
Q5: Where was the thumb spike first wrongly placed?
Answer: On its nose
It looked like a horn.
Q6: What was the thumb spike probably used for?
Answer: Defense or feeding
Its use is still debated.
Q7: Where were dozens of Iguanodon skeletons found in 1878?
Answer: A coal mine in Bernissart, Belgium
Many are on display in Brussels.
Q8: How did Iguanodon move?
Answer: On two or four legs
Its hands could bear weight.
Q9: What did Iguanodon eat?
Answer: Plants
It had a beak and grinding teeth.
Q10: Where were famous early life-size Iguanodon sculptures built?
Answer: Crystal Palace Park in London
A dinner was held inside one mold.

Iguanodon Quiz – Thumb Spikes and an Early Dinosaur Find

Iguanodon lived in the Early Cretaceous, around 125 million years ago. In 1825 Gideon Mantell named it after teeth found in Sussex that looked like a giant iguana's, making it one of the first dinosaurs ever named.

Early scientists thought its thumb spike was a horn on its nose. In 1878 miners in Bernissart, Belgium, found dozens of skeletons, which showed the spike belonged on the thumb.

Iguanodon ate plants with a beak and grinding teeth and could walk on two or four legs. Life-size models at Crystal Palace Park in London, built in the 1850s, show how ideas about it have changed.

What This Quiz Teaches

Dinosaur fans will enjoy these questions.

Who named it
What its name means
Where the spike belongs
Where skeletons were found
How it lived

Did You Know?

Mary Ann Mantell helped find early fossils.
The Belgian skeletons stand in Brussels's natural sciences museum.
Its little finger could grasp objects.
Iguanodon grew to about 10 meters long.
The Crystal Palace models still stand today.