''Ugly''16ft-long dinosaur is found in the south of France with terrifying 2.5-inch teeth that tore through food like scissors 80 million years ago

An ''ugly'' dinosaur with huge scissor-style teeth that roamed the south of France 80 million years ago has been discovered by scientists.The plant eater - which grew to more than 16 feet long - had an unusually short face with powerful jaws that enabled it to snack on tough riverside palm trees.

Its two-and-a-half inch teeth worked ''''like a pair of scissors'''' as it chewed the hard foliage, before swallowing.

A bizarre-looking dinosaur with huge scissor-style teeth that roamed the south of France 80 million years ago has been discovered by scientists

Named Matheronodon provincialis, its jaw-bone and seven teeth were unearthed at a fossil site in the hillside village of Velaux-La Bastide Neuve.

It is the latest in a diverse range of dinosaurs to be dug up in Provence - along with pterosaurs, prehistoric sharks, crocodiles and turtles.

The modern holiday region was once a tropical hotspot with palm trees, freshwater turtles and crocodiles - as well as pterosaurs flying above a wide variety of dinosaurs. 

Now, the latest fossil has been unveiled by Dr Pascal Godefroit from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels.

He said: ''''''''Here we describe a new rhabdodontid dinosaur, Matheronodon provincialis, from Velaux-La Bastide Neuve - with a quite unusual dentition.

It was identified as a member of the rhabdodontids - a group of herbivorous bipedal dinosaurs - from the late Campanian period about 84 to 72 million years ago.

They were descendants of the iguanodontian dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic.

Scientists were able to reconstruct the upper jaw of the new species using CT scans - showing the implantation of the large teeth.

Measuring around 6cm (2.4 inches) in height, they had a chisel-like cutting edge.

An analysis of the microstructure found the ridges along the thicker, enameled side of the crown formed a self-sharpening serrated and jagged slicing edge.

It''''''''s believed the unique dentition and chewing action of the jaws were adapted for producing a strict and powerful shearing action - resembling a pair of scissors.

Dr Godefroit, said: It had a short face - compared with other iguanodontian dinosaurs.