Hypsilophodon

Hypsilophodon is an ornithopod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England.

The first remains of Hypsilophodon were found in 1849; the type species,Hypsilophodon foxii, was named in 1869. Abundant fossil discoveries were made on the Isle of Wight, giving a good impression of the build of the species. It was a small bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet. Hypsilophodonreached up to 1.8 metres in length, weighed about 20 kg, and was an agile runner. It had a pointed head equipped with a sharp beak used to bite off plant material, much like modern day parrots.

Older studies have given rise to number of misconceptions about Hypsilophodon: that it would climb trees, were armoured, reached a length of 2.3 metres and were also found outside of Wight. During the past decades new research has gradually shown this to be incorrect.