Protohadros

Protohadros (meaning "first hadrosaur") is a genus of basal hadrosaurid dinosaur from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stage, approximately 100-93.9 million years ago) of what is now Texas, United States. It is represented by the species Protohadros byrdi, known from a partially complete skull and associated postcranial remains recovered from the Woodbine Formation. Protohadros was one of the earliest derived hadrosaurs in North America.

== History of Discovery == Gary Byrd, a part-time palaeontologist, discovered some remains of this euornithopod (ribs and an ungual) during early 1994 at Flower Mound, Denton County, north-central Texas. He informed professional palaeontologist Yuong-Nam Lee of the find, who arranged for the entire preserved fossil to be excavated. It was first reported upon in 1996 by Jason Head of the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Southern Methodist University. The type species Protohadros byrdi was described and named by Head in 1998. The genus name is derived from Greek πρῶτος, protos, "first", en ἁδρός, hadros, "thick", a reference to the fact that Head considered the species the oldest known hadrosaur. The specific name honours Byrd.