Anatotitan

Name:

Anatotitan (Greek for "giant duck"); pronounced ah-NAH-toe-TIE-tan

Habitat:

Woodlands of North America

Historical Period:

Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 40 feet long and 5 tons

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Large size; broad, flat bill

About Anatotitan:

It took a long time for paleontologists to figure out exactly what type of dinosaur Anatotitan was. Since the discovery of its first fossil remains in the late 19th century, this giant herbivore has been classified in various ways, sometimes going by the now-unfashionable names Trachodon or Anatosaurus, or considered a species of Edmontosaurus. However, in 1990 a convincing case was presented that Anatotitan deserved its own genus in the family of hadrosaurs, an idea that has since been accepted by most of the dinosaur community.

As you might have guessed, Anatotitan ("giant duck") is named after its broad, flat, duck-like bill. However, one shouldn't take the analogy too far: the beak of a duck is a very sensitive organ (a bit like human lips), but Anatotitan's bill was a hard, flat mass used mainly to dig up vegetation.