A reconsideration of the paleoecology of hadrosaurian dinosaurs

Paleogeographic and paleobotanical evidence suggest that Late Cretaceous duck-billed dinosaurs lived in lowland coastal plains in warm temperate to subtropical climates. The predominant associated flora was of the lowland forest type. Nature of dental apparatus, skeletal structure, associated flora, and, in one instance, preserved stomach contents indicate that hadrosaurs were terrestrial bipeds adapted to eating the resistant tissues of land plants rather than soft aquatic plants. In the absence of recognizable defensive structures, the large flat tail and webbed manus are regarded as protective adaptations that permitted the hadrosaurs to escape terrestrial dangers by swimming.