Hadrosaurs are not always the most well represented of dinosaur groups, but they were among the most widespread and common of all known dinosaur clades. Their lack of representation is most likely down to their appearance, or at least the first glance of it. They were herbivorous ornithischians, but lacked the long necks of sauropods, the flashy weaponry of the ceratopsians and the stegosaurs, and the defensive armour of the ankylosaurs.

They didn't have big teeth or claws, and many of them are represented in the media as prey animals - simple, dull reptiles that existed purely to feed the more interesting theropods. This could not be further from the truth. The hadrosaurs were a massively diverse group, and you'll have most certainly heard of some of its members already. Creatures such as Parasaurolophus, Maiasaura, Tenontosaurus and Corythosaurus have made the rounds in popular films, television shows and books - some more than others. With their well known fossils or bizarre skulls, these are the exceptions to the rule - many other hadrosaurs do tend to, sadly, go unnoticed by the media. Indeed, hadrosaurs were, in reality, spectacular animals. Some of them grew to extreme lengths - in some cases, up to seventeen metres long - but more on that later.

These creatures were prominent mainly on North America, Europe and Asia, but remains have also been unearthed in South America, Africa and even Antarctica, with over fifty distinct genera of hadrosaur having been described by paleontologists since the mid eighteen hundreds. These dinosaurs all vary greatly - some of them have bizarre head crests, which may have been vibrantly coloured to aid in display or communication. Many of them were able to utilise these crests to amplify their vocal calls, which may have been able to travel long distances across the land. Many species posessed unique 'duck bills', a phrase which you have likely heard to describe these animals before. This toothless beak projected out in front of the face, which possessed huge tooth batteries. These teeth were fused together, to aid the dinosaurs in chewing tough, fibrous plant matter, and were frequently replaced as the animal went about its life.

In today's video, we will be exploring these dinosaurs in great detail, travelling to each and every continent in which they thrived, usually throughout the Late Cretaceous. We will be taking a look at the diversity in hadrosaur forms, looking at how they lived and what they looked like, dipping into their discoveries along the way. Join us, as we take meet one of the most diverse groups of reptiles ever to live - the hadrosaurs.

0:00 Introduction
4:03 North America
16:26 South America
21:46 Europe
26:15 Asia
32:22 Africa
24:49 Antarctica
36:21 Outro

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