Name meaning: "Lizard from Edmonton"
Length: 13 meters (43 ft)
Weight: 5 tons
Edmontosaurus was a large herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. It's name means "Edmonton lizard" after the location of its discovery (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).
Edmontosaurus is part of the Hadrosauridae, or duckbill family of dinosaurs, who are known for their amazing teeth - or as paleontologists call it, their "dental battery." On each side of the jaw are three rows of sixty or more perfectly interlocking teeth - that's 720 per mouth, compared to thirty-two in an adult human! Not only did Edmontosaurus have a lot of teeth, but when one fell out, another from inside its jaw would take its place! Teeth like these are called "evergrowing".
Edmontosaurus ate plants and had to be on constant alert for predators such as Tyrannosaurus and Dromaeosaurus. Edmontosaurus could not outrun any of the meat-eaters and had to rely on outmaneuvering them - like a crafty football player - and traveling in large herds, where there was safety in numbers.
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