Open Paleo

Hadrosauroidea

Cope, 1869 Type genus Hadrosaurus

Its genera lived 125.8–66.0 million years ago Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous stages

Hadrosauroidea is a superfamily of ornithischian dinosaurs that includes the duck-billed hadrosaurids and all dinosaurs more closely related to them than to Iguanodon. Alongside the advanced duck-bills, it takes in a long series of more primitive relatives such as Probactrosaurus, Altirhinus, Eolambia, Bactrosaurus, and Telmatosaurus, many of which were once lumped into a now-abandoned catch-all "Iguanodontidae." These early forms document the gradual assembly of the hadrosaurid body plan, including the specialized grinding dental battery and the broad, toothless bill. Their remains have been recovered across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, charting the Cretaceous spread of duck-billed dinosaurs, with the closest kin of the true hadrosaurids grouped together as Hadrosauromorpha.

Diagnosis

  1. Dental battery with strongly reduced or absent cingula on the crowns
  2. Loss of the manual pollex (thumb spike)
  3. Broad, transversely expanded edentulous premaxillary bill
  4. Three or more functional teeth per vertical tooth family

Clades within Hadrosauroidea

Genera placed directly in Hadrosauroidea

  • Altirhinus Norman, 1998 Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)Mongolia
  • Batyrosaurus Godefroit et al., 2012 Santonian–Campanian (85.7–72.2 Ma)Kazakhstanunder dispute
  • Bolong Wu et al., 2010 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)Chinaunder dispute
  • Cariocecus Bertozzo et al., 2025 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)Portugalunder dispute
  • Choyrodon Gates et al., 2018 Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)Mongoliaunder dispute
  • Datonglong Xu et al., 2016 Cenomanian–Campanian (100.5–72.2 Ma)China
  • Equijubus You et al., 2003 Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)China
  • Glishades Nomen dubium Prieto-Márquez, 2010 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)United Statesincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Gongpoquansaurus You et al., 2014 Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)China
  • Haolong Huang et al., 2026 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)China
  • Hypsibema Nomen dubium Cope, 1869 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)United Statesincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Jinzhousaurus Wang & Xu, 2001 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)China
  • Koshisaurus Shibata & Azuma, 2015 Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)Japanunder dispute
  • Orthomerus Nomen dubium Seeley, 1883 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Netherlandsincertae sedis
  • Paludohadros Sacamoto et al., 2026 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)United Kingdom
  • Penelopognathus Godefroit et al., 2005 Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma)China
  • Portellsaurus Santos-Cubedo et al., 2021 Barremian (125.8–121.4 Ma)Spain
  • Probactrosaurus Rozhdestvensky, 1966 Aptian–Albian (121.4–100.5 Ma)China
  • Qianjiangsaurus Dai et al., 2024 Santonian–Maastrichtian (85.7–66.0 Ma)China
  • Sirindhorna Shibata et al., 2015 Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)Thailand
  • Xuwulong You et al., 2011 Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)China
  • Yunganglong Wang et al., 2013 Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)China
  • Zuoyunlong Wang et al., 2017 Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)China

References

  1. Cope, E. D. (1869). Synopsis of the extinct Batrachia, Reptilia, and Aves of North America. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 14: 1-252.

    Named the family Hadrosauridae, from which the superfamily name takes its authorship by coordination; Madzia and colleagues (2021) credit Hadrosauroidea to Huene (1952).

    cope1869b
  2. Huene, F. V. (1952). Die Saurierwelt und ihre geschichtlichen Zusammenhänge [The world of the saurians and its historical connections]. Gustav Fischer, Jena.

    Credited with the superfamily name Hadrosauroidea by Madzia and colleagues (2021).

    huene1952a
  3. Madzia, D.; Arbour, V. M.; Boyd, C. A.; Farke, A. A.; Cruzado-Caballero, P.; Evans, D. C. (2021). The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs. PeerJ 9: e12362. doi:10.7717/peerj.12362

    Provides the modern phylogenetic definition of Hadrosauroidea.

    madzia2021a