In
1883 Belgian paleontologist
Louis Dollo described the fauna found in the
Late Cretaceous of Belgium near
Lonzée, naming the theropod species
Megalosaurus lonzeensis and the new herbivorous dinosaur
Craspedodon lonzeensis. Dollo identified
Craspedodon from three teeth in the collections of the
Museum of Natural Sciences in
Brussels, from the
Lonzée Member, finding the most similarities with species of
Iguanodon amongst ornithischians. The
genus name is a reference to the strong ridges that cross the teeth, while the
species name is a reference to the locality where it was found. Dollo specified the Lonzée Member as being middle
Senonian in age, which is now understood to be
Coniacian to
Santonian. Since its description,
Craspedodon was considered an
ornithopod following the relationship with
Iguanodon suggested by Dollo, but this was revisited in 2007 by Belgian paleontologists
Pascal Godefroit and Olivier Lambert. Godefroit and Lambert identified that the three teeth described by Dollo are IRSNB R57, R58 and R59, and rather than being an ornithopod, are actually some of the earliest evidence of
Neoceratopsia from Europe. They were unable to determine whether
Craspedodon was a diagnostic taxon or a
nomen dubium, identifying some features that suggest separation but also noting that tooth anatomy is too poorly understood to be definitive. == Classification ==