若根據曼特爾的筆記,他在1820年於蒂爾蓋特森林發現大型動物化石,其中帶有獸腳類恐龍的牙齒。曼特爾當時認為這些化石是肉食性動物,可能是種巨大的史前鱷魚。隔年,他發現其中帶有植食性動物的牙齒,開始思考部分化石可能來自於大型植食性動物。曼特爾在1822年發表的文獻《Fossils of the South Downs》,提到這些化石來自於史前大型肉食性、植食性動物,但他沒有將不完整的身體化石歸類於任何一種。
不管當初事實的真相是如何,曼特爾前往倫敦皇家學會請教當時的化石專家這些牙齒屬於哪些動物。當時大部分科學家,例如威廉·巴克蘭(William Buckland)與喬治·居維葉(Georges Cuvier),最初認為這些牙齒來自於魚類或哺乳類(例如第四紀的犀牛)。在1824年,威廉·巴克蘭敘述、命名了斑龍,之後再度檢視曼特爾的化石,認定這些牙齒屬於史前大型爬行動物。之後喬治·居維葉也修正他的看法,這些牙齒屬於大型爬行動物,而且可能是植食性動物。喬治·居維葉在1824年再版的《Recherches sur les Ossemens Fossiles》,提到曼特爾發現的化石,並使古生物學界開始瞭解這些新發現。曼特爾開始著手寫論文,企圖找出這些牙齒與現在爬行動物的相似處,並拜訪多位學者與學術單位[15]。皇家外科醫學院的一位博物學家山繆·斯塔奇伯里(Samuel Stutchbury),認為這些牙齒類似鬣蜥的牙齒,儘管體積是鬣蜥牙齒的兩倍大小[4]。在1825年,曼特爾完成他的史前爬行動物牙齒研究,並將研究結果提交給倫敦皇家學會[13][16]。
在確認過這些牙齒與鬣蜥牙齒的相似處後,曼特爾將牠們命名為禽龍(Iguanodon);在希臘文裡,iguana意為「鬣蜥」,odontos意為「牙齒」[5]。曼特爾基於異速成長理論,而估計這動物的身長接近18公尺,超過當時估計的斑龍身長(12公尺)[16]。曼特爾最初是想將牠命名為Iguanasaurus(鬣蜥龍),但他的朋友威廉·丹尼尔·科尼比尔(William Daniel Conybeare)建議這個名字比較適合鬣蜥本身,而Iguanoides(似鬣蜥)或Iguanodon(鬣蜥牙齒)是更好的選擇[15][17]。曼特爾當時忘記取種名,所以在1829年,弗里德里希·霍尔(Friedrich Holl)將禽龍命名為I. anglicum,後來修改為安格理克斯禽龍(I. anglicus)[18]。
1834年,肯特郡梅德斯通發現了一個更好的標本,屬於下海绿石砂組地層。曼特爾馬上便取得了該標本,他從牙齒辨認出它屬於禽龍。曼特爾嘗試根據梅德斯通化石,而製作禽龍的重建骨骼。但他犯了一個著名的錯誤,將一個角狀物置於鼻部之上[19]。後來所發現的保存狀態更好標本,透露出該角狀物應該是拇指上的尖指爪。在梅德斯通所發現的標本,現在與岩石一起在倫敦自然史博物館展示中。在1949年,梅德斯通當地為了紀念這個發現,將一隻禽龍放在當地的紋章上[20]。這個標本被認為與克里斯蒂安·埃里希·赫尔曼·冯·迈尔(Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer)在1832年所命名的曼氏禽龍(I. mantelli)有關聯,汪邁爾命名曼氏禽龍來取代安格理克斯禽龍;但事實上,發現安格理克斯禽龍化石的岩層,與曼氏禽龍所處岩層並不相同[17]。
恐龍文藝復興開始於1969年對於恐爪龍的重新描述,但禽龍並非恐龍文藝復興的初期研究對象之一,不過並沒有被忽視太久。大衛·威顯穆沛(David B. Weishampel)對於鳥腳亚目恐龍進食方法的研究,提供了禽龍進食方式的相關資訊[40];而大衛·諾曼(David B. Norman)針對禽龍屬的多層面研究,使得禽龍成為最研究最深入的恐龍之一[3][7][41][42]。此外,在德國北萊茵-威斯伐倫州布里隆鎮一個村中發現的眾多禽龍骨骸,則提供禽龍是群居動物的證據。這群禽龍包含至少15個個體,身長範圍從2到8公尺之間,牠們可能是被洪水所淹死的;而其中某些修長個體屬於相近的曼特爾龍或道羅齒龍(當時被認為是禽龍的一種)[27][39]。
因為禽龍是最早被命名的恐龍之一,過去曾有許多的種被歸類於禽龍屬。不同於其他早期恐龍(例如斑龍與畸形龍),禽龍並沒有成為垃圾箱类群,但禽龍仍擁有複雜的分類歷史,而牠們的分類目前仍持續進行重新研究[39][44][45][46]。其中最著名種是貝尼薩爾禽龍,化石已發現於比利時、英格蘭,可能還有德國、西班牙、以及法國;而發現於美國猶他州與南達科他州的化石已建立為新屬;發現於突尼西亞、蒙古的化石,可能屬於禽龍屬。在2008年,葛瑞格利·保羅(Gregory S. Paul)重新研究禽龍的各種,將貝尼薩爾禽龍的範圍限定在比利時貝尼薩爾附近發現的化石;而歐洲其他地區發現的禽龍化石,年代為巴列姆階,體型較為粗壯,另外標明為Iguanodon sp.,意為未確定名稱的種[39]。貝尼薩爾禽龍過去被視為典型的英國恐龍,但現在與英國關聯不大。
I. exogyrarum:由弗里奇在1878年命名,有時也拼成I. exogirarum或I. exogirarus。化石材料非常少,因此狀態為疑名,目前被乔治·奥利舍夫斯基(George Olshevsky)建立為新屬,壞骨龍(Ponerosteus)[54]。
凡登禽龍(I. valdensis):是由約翰·赫克(Jone Hulke)在1879年命名,最初被命名為威特島龍,化石包含脊椎與骨盆,發現於威特島的巴列姆階地層[55]。在1900年,Ernst van den Broeck將其改歸類於禽龍屬的一個種[56]。目前可能是曼特爾龍的一個成長中個體[57],或是曼特爾龍的一個未確定種[39]。
拉科塔禽龍(I. lakotaensis):是由大衛·威顯穆沛與菲利浦·比約克(Philip R. Bjork)在1989年所命名[64]。拉科塔禽龍是北美洲發現的唯一禽龍有效種,化石包含一個部份頭顱骨,發現於美國南達科他州的拉科塔組,地質年代為下白堊紀的巴列姆階。拉科塔禽龍的歸類是有爭議的,有些研究人員認為牠們比貝尼薩爾禽龍原始,並與眾神花園龍(Theiophytalia)有接近親緣關係[65],而大衛·諾曼則認為牠們是貝尼薩爾禽龍的一個異名[44]。在2008年,葛瑞格利·保羅(Gregory S. Paul)重新研究禽龍的各種,將拉科塔禽龍獨立為新屬,拉科塔達科塔齒龍(D. lakotaensis)[39]。
^ 2.02.1Verdú, Francisco J.; Royo-Torres, Rafael; Cobos, Alberto; Alcalá, Luis. Perinates of a new species of Iguanodon (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the lower Barremian of Galve (Teruel, Spain). Cretaceous Research. 2015, 56: 250–264. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.05.010.
^ 5.05.15.25.35.45.5(英文)Naish, Darren; David M. Martill. Ornithopod dinosaurs. Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. London: The Palaeontological Association. 2001: 60–132. ISBN 0-901702-72-2.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^ 6.06.1(英文)Blows, W. T. A review of Lower and middle Cretaceous dinosaurs from England. Lucas, S.G., Kirkland, J.I., and Estep, J.W. (eds.) (编). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 14. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. 1997: 29–38.
^ 9.09.1(英文)Norman, David B. "Iguanodontidae". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, 110–115.
^ 10.010.110.2(英文)Norman, David B.; Weishampel, David B. Iguanodontidae and related ornithopods. Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). (编). The Dinosauria. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1990: 510–533. ISBN 0-520-06727-4.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(英文)Horner, J. R. Evidence of diphyletic origination of the hadrosaurian (Reptilia: Ornithischia) dinosaurs. Kenneth Carpenter and Phillip J. Currie (eds.) (编). Dinosaur Systematics: Perspectives and Approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1990: 179–187. ISBN 0-521-36672-0.
^ 13.013.1(英文)Sues, Hans-Dieter. European Dinosaur Hunters. James Orville Farlow and M. K. Brett-Surman (eds.) (编). The Complete Dinosaur. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1997: p.14. ISBN 0-253-33349-0. 引文格式1维护:冗余文本 (link)
^ 18.018.1(英文)Holl, Friedrich. Handbuch der Petrifaktenkunde, Vol. I. Ouedlinberg. Dresden: P.G. Hilscher. 1829. OCLC 7188887.
^(英文)Mantell, Gideon A. Discovery of the bones of the Iguanodon in a quarry of Kentish Rag (a limestone belonging to the Lower Greensand Formation) near Maidstone, Kent.. Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 1834, 17: 200–201.
^ 21.021.1(英文)Torrens, Hugh. "Politics and Paleontology". The Complete Dinosaur, 175–190.
^(英文)Owen, R. Report on British Fossil Reptiles: Part II.. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1841. 1842, 1842: 60–204.
^Mantell, Gideon A. Petrifications and their teachings: or, a handbook to the gallery of organic remains of the British Museum.. London: H. G. Bohn. 1851. OCLC 8415138.
^(英文)Yanni, Carla. Divine Display or Secular Science: Defining Nature at the Natural History Museum in London. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. September 1996, 55 (3): 276–299. doi:10.2307/991149.
^(英文)Norman, David B. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. p. 11.
^ 27.027.127.227.327.4(英文)Norman, David B. A mass-accumulation of vertebrates from the Lower Cretaceous of Nehden (Sauerland), West Germany. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. March 1987, 230 (1259): 215–255. doi:10.1098/rspb.1987.0017.
^(法文)De Pauw, L.F., 1902, Notes sur les fouilles du charbonnage de Bernissart, Découverte, solidification et montage des Iguanodons, Imprim. photo-litho, JH. & P. Jumpertz, 150 av.d’Auderghem. 25 pp
^(法文)Pascal Godefroit & Thierry Leduc, 2008, "La conservation des ossements fossiles : le cas des Iguanodons de Bernissart", Conservation, Exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art2 (2008)
^(法文)Dollo, Louis. Première note sur les dinosauriens de Bernissart. Bulletin du Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique. 1882, 1: 161–180.
^(法文)Dollo, Louis. Note sur les restes de dinosauriens recontrés dans le Crétacé Supérieur de la Belgique. Bulletin du Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique. 1883, 2: 205–221.
^(英文)de Ricqlès, A. Bernissart's Iguanodon: the case for "fresh" versus "old" dinosaur bone.. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 2003, 23 (Supplement to Number 3): 45A. ISSN 0272-4634. Abstracts of Papers, Sixty-Third Annual Meeting.
^ 33.033.1(英文)Hooley, R. W. On the skeleton of Iguanodon atherfieldensis sp. nov., from the Wealden Shales of Atherfield (Isle of Wight). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1925, 81 (2): 1–61. ISSN 0370-291X.
^(法文)Lapparent, A. F. de. Découverte de Dinosauriens associés à une faune de Reptiles et de Poissons, dans le Crétacé inférieur de l'Extrême Sud Tunisien. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences. 1951, 232: 1430. ISSN 0567-655X.
^(法文)Lapparent, A. F. de. Les dinosauriens du "Continental Intercalaire" du Sahara Central. Mémoires de la Socété Géologique de France (Nouvelle Série). 1960, 88A: 1–57.
^ 36.036.1(俄文)Rozhdestvensky, A.K. [Discovery of an iguanodont in Mongolia]. Dokladi Akademii Nauk S.S.S.R. 1952, 84 (6): 1243–1246.
^ 37.037.1(英文)Galton, P. M.; J. A. Jensen. Remains of ornithopod dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. Brigham Young University Geology Studies. 1979, 25 (3): 1–10. ISSN 1041-7184.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(英文)Weishampel, David B.; Phillip R. Bjork. The first indisputable remains of Iguanodon (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from North America: Iguanodon lakotaensis, sp. nov.. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 1989, 9 (1): 56–66.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^ 40.040.1(英文)Weishampel, David B. Evolution in jaw mechanics in ornithopod dinosaurs. Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology, 87. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. 1984. ISBN 0387131140. ISSN 0301-5556. PMID 6464809.
^ 41.041.141.241.341.441.5(英文)Norman, David B. On the ornithischian dinosaur Iguanodon bernissartensis of Bernissart (Belgium). Mémoires de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. 1980, 178: 1–105.
^ 42.042.1(英文)Norman, David B. On the anatomy of Iguanodon atherfieldensis (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda). Bulletin de L'institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique Sciences de la Terre. 1986, 56: 281–372. ISSN 0374-6291.
^(英文)Embery, Graham; Angela C. Milner, Rachel J. Waddington, Rachel C. Hall, Martin S. Langley, Anna M. Milan. Identification of proteinaceous material in the bone of the dinosaur Iguanodon. Connective Tissue Research. 2003, (Suppl. 1): 41–46. PMID 12952172. doi:10.1080/713713598.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^ 44.044.144.244.3(英文)Norman, David B. On Asian ornithopods (Dinosauria, Ornithischia). 3. A new species of iguanodontid dinosaur. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. January 1998, 122 (1–2): 291–348. doi:10.1006/zjls.1997.0122.
^(英文)Norman, David B.; Barrett, Paul M. Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) of England. Milner, Andrew, and Batten, David J. (eds.) (编). Life and Environments in Purbeck Times. Special Papers in Palaeontology 68. London: Palaeontological Association. 2002: 161–189. ISBN 0901702730.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^ 46.046.146.2Paul, Gregory S. Turning the old into the new: a separate genus for the gracile iguanodont from the Wealden of England. Kenneth Carpenter (ed.) (编). Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2007: 69–77. ISBN 0-253-34817-X.
^ 48.048.1(英文)Norman, David B. On Asian ornithopods (Dinosauria, Ornithischia). 1. Iguanodon orientalis Rozhdestvensky, 1952. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. March 1996, 116 (2): 303–315. doi:10.1006/zjls.1996.0021.
^(英文)Norman, David B.; and Barrett, Paul M. Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) of England. Special Papers in Palaeontology. 2002, 68: 161–189.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^ 52.052.1(英文)Naish, Darren; and Martill, David M. Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: Ornithischia. Journal of the Geological Society, London. 2008, 165: 613–623.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(德文)Brikman, Winand. Zur Fundgeschichte und Systematik der Ornithopoden (Ornithischia, Reptilia) aus der Ober-Kreide von Europa. Documenta Naturae, 45. Munich: Kanzler. 1988. ISBN 3865440452.
^(英文)Olshevsky, George. An annotated checklist of dinosaur species by continent. Mesozoic Meanderings, 3. San Diego: G. Olshevsky Publications Requiring Research. 2000. ISSN 0271-9428. OCLC 44433611.
^(英文)Van den Broeck, Ernst, 1900, "Les dépôts à iguanodons de Bernissart et leur transfert dans l'étage purbeckien ou aquilonien du Jurassique Supérieur" Bulletin de la Société Belge Géologique XIV Mem., 39-112
^(英文)Norman, David B. "A review of Vectisaurus valdensis, with comments on the family Iguanodontidae". Dinosaur Systematics, 147–161.
^(英文)Lydekker, Richard. On the remains and affinities of five genera of Mesozoic reptiles. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1889, 45: 41–59.
^(英文)Lydekker, Richard. Note on a new Wealden iguanodont and other dinosaurs. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1888, 44: 46–61.
^(英文)Woodward, Henry. On Iguanodon mantelli, Meyer. Geological Magazine, series 3. 1885, 2 (1): 10–15. OCLC 2139602.
^(英文)Paul, G.S. (2012). "Notes on the rising diversity of Iguanodont taxa, and Iguanodonts named after Darwin, Huxley, and evolutionary science." Actas de V Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno, Salas de los Infantes, Burgos. p123-133.
^(英文)Naish, Darren; and Martill, David M. Dinosaurs of Great Britain and the role of the Geological Society of London in their discovery: Ornithischia. Journal of the Geological Society, London. 2008, 165 (3): 613–623. doi:10.1144/0016-76492007-154.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(英文)Weishampel, David B.; Philip R. Bjork. The first indisputable remains of Iguanodon (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from North America: Iguanodon lakotaensis, sp. nov.. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 1989, 9 (1): 56–66.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(英文)Brill, Kathleen and Kenneth Carpenter. "A description of a new ornithopod from the Lytle Member of the Purgatoire Formation (Lower Cretaceous) and a reassessment of the skull of Camptosaurus." Horns and Beaks, 49–67.
^(英文)McDonald, Andrew T. The status of Dollodon and other basal iguanodonts (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the upper Wealden beds (Lower Cretaceous) of Europe. Cretaceous Research advance online publication. 2011, 33: 1. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.03.002.
^(英文)Seeley, Harry G. Index to the fossil remains of Aves, Ornithosauria, and Reptilia, from the secondary system of strata arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co. 1869. OCLC 7743994.
^(英文)Seeley, Harry G. On the maxillary bone of a new dinosaur (Priodontognathus phillipsii), contained in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1875, 31: 439–443.
^(英文)Horner, John R., David B. Weishampel and Catherine A. Forster. "Hadrosauridae". The Dinosauria, pp 438–463.
^(法文)Sauvage, H. E. Sur les reptiles trouvés dans le Portlandian supérieur de Boulogne-sur-mer. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Historie Naturalle, Paris. 1888, 3 (16): 626.
^(英文)Upchurch, Paul, Paul M. Barret, and Peter Dodson. "Sauropoda". The Dinosauria
^(德文)Christian Keferstein, 1834, Die Naturgeschichte des Erdkörpers in ihren ersten Grundzügen. Zweiter Theil: Die Geologie und Paläonthologie, Friedrich Fleischer, Leipzig, p. 259
^(德文)Muncke, Georg Wilhelm, 1830, Handbuch der Naturkunde Band 2, Heidelberg 1830
^(德文)Ritgen, F. A. Versuch einer natürlichen Eintheilung der Amphibien. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlichen Leopoldinisch-Carolinischen Akademie der Naturforscher. 1828, 14: 247–284.
^(德文)Fitzinger, L. J. Über Palaeosaurus sternbergii, eine neue Gattung vorweltlicher Reptilien und die Stellung dieser Thiere im Systeme überhaupt. Wiener Museum Annalen. 1840, II: 175–187.
^(英文)Upchurch, Paul; John Martin. The Anatomy and Taxonomy of Cetiosaurus (Saurischia, Sauropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of England. Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology. March 2003, 23 (1): 208–231. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[208:TAATOC]2.0.CO;2.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^(英文)Bakker, R.T. "When Dinosaurs Invented Flowers". The Dinosaur Heresies, 179–198
^(英文)Barrett, Paul M.; Willis, K.J. Did dinosaurs invent flowers? Dinosaur-angiosperm coevolution revisited. Biological Reviews. 2001, 76 (3): 411–447. doi:10.1017/S1464793101005735.引文使用过时参数coauthors (帮助)
^Weishampel, D.B., Barrett, P.M., Coria, R.A., Le Loeuff, J., Xu Xing, Zhao Xijin, Sahni, A., Gomani, E.M.P., and Noto, C.R. "Dinosaur Distribution". The Dinosauria, 517–606.
^(英文)Goodrich, Samuel Griswold. Illustrated Natural History of the Animal Kingdom. University of Michigan Library. 2004 [1859]. ISBN 1418158844.
^(英文)Wright, J.L. Fossil terrestrial trackways: Preservation, taphonomy, and palaeoecological significance.. University of Bristol: 1–300. 1996.
^(英文)Wright, J.L. Ichnological evidence for the use of the forelimb in iguanodontians. David M. Unwin (ed.) (编). Cretaceous Fossil Vertebrates. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 60. Palaeontological Association. 1999: 209–219. ISBN 0901702676.
^(英文)Tagert, E. On markings in the Hastings sands near Hastings, supposed to be the footprints of birds. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1846, 2: 267.
^Beckles, Samuel H. On the ornithoidichnites of the Wealden. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 1854, 10: 456–464.
^(英文)Owen, Richard. Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations. Part IV. Dinosauria (Hylaeosaurus). Paleontographical Society Monograph. 1858, 10: 1–26.
^(英文)Bird-Footed Iguanodon, 1857. Paper Dinosaurs 1824–1969. Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology. [2007-02-14]. (原始内容存档于2006-09-28).
^(英文)Glut, Donald F. Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. 3rd Supplement. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. 2003: 626. ISBN 0-7864-1166-X.
^(英文)Lapparent, Albert-Félix de. Footprints of dinosaurs in the Lower Cretaceous of Vestspitsbergen — Svalbard. Arbok Norsk Polarinstitutt, 1960. 1962: 13–21.
^(法文)van Beneden, P.J. Sur la découverte de reptiles fossiles gigantesques dans le charbonnage de Bernissart, près de Pruwelz.. Bulletin de l'Institut Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique. 1878, 3 (1): 1–19.