The Camptosaurus
The name Camptosaurus means 'bent lizard' due to its thigh bones which appears curved. It walked on two legs and two arms that made the dinosaur look bent on all fours. It was first discovered by Earl Douglass in 1879. It was first named Camptonotus (meaning 'bent back') by another Scientist by the name of Othniel Charles Marsh. Later on, in 1885, the name has been changed to Camptosaurus because the first name has already been used for a leaf-rolling cricket.
The bent lizard measured between 6 to 7 meters long and around 6 meters high. The dinosaur is an Ornithopoda. It is a herbivore which lived 155 - 140 million years ago, in the Jurassic and Cretaceous period. Its habitat was in western Europe, especially in Portugal and England and in North America in states like Wyoming and Utah.
The Camptosaurus was not a threat to other dinosaurs, but it was a target to fierce carnivores. It was a typical plant-eater and lived very peacefully. The dinosaur walked on its two rear legs most of the time. When it wanted to feed itself, it probably used all the two legs and two arms which had little hooves on the fingers, to walk around the low-growing plants and eating them.
The Camptosaurus had cheeks to chew plants. It had long wide head with ridged teeth in the mouth. It also had a horny beak where the jaws were covered, and maybe used to chop off the tough ferns and palm leaves. Many experts believe that this dinosaur had a tongue. It probably used the tongue to wrap the leaves in it and then take them into the mouth to chew. The cheeks of the Camptosaurus were very stretchy like elastic, which can be expanded to consume huge quantities of food and then chewing them.
The bent dinosaur ran quite fast. The hind legs were powerful indeed and the fact that it had curved thigh bones which enabled it to run. It balanced its big body with its heavy tail, as it ran. The dinosaur had no means to defend itself such as sharp horns, claws or any other type of weapon. The only means of escape was to flee as quickly as possible using its hind legs from the large predators.