Hylaeosaurus - A Small, Herbivorous Dinosaur with a Distinctive Set of Spines

Hylaeosaurus was a small, herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, around 125 to 100 million years ago. It was discovered in 1832 in England and named "lizard of the alder trees" because its fossils were found in layers of sedimentary rock that contained alder trees.
Hylaeosaurus was a member of the group called Ornithopoda, which includes other small to medium-sized herbivorous dinosaurs like Camptosaurus and Iguanodon. It had a distinctive set of spines running along its back, which were likely used for display purposes or to defend against predators.
Hylaeosaurus was a relatively small dinosaur, with adults reaching lengths of around 6 to 8 meters (20 to 25 feet) and weighing around 1 to 2 tons. It had a long, narrow skull with a distinctive beak-like snout, and its teeth were specialized for eating plants. Its body was covered in armor plates, and it had short legs and powerful claws on its feet.
Hylaeosaurus is known from several well-preserved fossil specimens found in Europe and North America. It is considered an important transitional form between earlier, more primitive ornithopods and later, more advanced hadrosaurs like Edmontosaurus and Maiasaura.