Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight
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The
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
is one of the richest
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
localities in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, with over 20
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of dinosaur having been recognised from the early
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
Period (in particular between 132 and 110
million years ago The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds. Usage Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...
), some of which were first identified on the island, as well as the contemporary non-dinosaurian species of
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
,
turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
and
pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
.
Compton Bay Compton Bay is a bay located on the southwest section of the Isle of Wight, England. Its northwestern edge is defined by the distinctive white chalk cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general a ...
, near
Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
features dinosaur footprints which are visible at low
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...
.


Geological strata

The Isle of Wight has layers of the Vectis and
Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
en
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
-bearing
bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many b ...
s exposed on the southern half of the island. These are revealed in the cliffs of
Yaverland Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of ''Yaverlan ...
, close to
Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...
, and at Hanover Point and Whale
Chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isl ...
, along the southwestern coast.


The Cretaceous habitat

The island's dinosaurs come from the
Wessex Formation The Wessex Formation is a fossil-rich English geological formation that dates from the Berriasian to Barremian stages (about 145–125 million years ago) of the Early Cretaceous. It forms part of the Wealden Group and underlies the younger Vecti ...
, which dates from between 125 and 110 million years ago ( mya). During this time the Isle of Wight, then located on a latitude at which
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
resides today, had a
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
environment and was part of a large
river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
complex, which ran along the south coast of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It was a world of ponds,
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s and
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, so it had conditions favourable for the formation of fossils. Animal remains from this time include
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
s,
turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
s,
pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
s,
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s and possibly some
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s. In the water were snails, fish and mussels. As this environment did not change much, over the course of 10 million years, a large number of fossils were formed, so the island today is a very rich source.


List of dinosaur species and genera

Unless otherwise specified, the following is a list of dinosaurs for which almost complete skeletons have been found on the island. There are also many more species, known only from a single or very few bones.


Order Ornithischia

* Suborder
Ornithopod Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...
a ("bird-footed", bipedal
herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s) ** ''
Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, Eu ...
bernissartensis'' ** ''
Brighstoneus ''Brighstoneus'' (after Brighstone, a village on the Isle of Wight) is a genus of hadrosauriform dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. The genus contains a single species, ''Brighstoneus simmondsi'' ...
simmondsi'', partial skeleton with skull and lower jaw ** ''
Mantellisaurus ''Mantellisaurus'' is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur that lived in the Barremian and early Aptian ages of the Early Cretaceous Period of Europe. Its remains are known from Belgium (Bernissart), England, Spain and Germany. The type and only sp ...
atherfieldensis'' ** ''
Valdosaurus ''Valdosaurus'' ("Weald Lizard") is a genus of bipedal herbivorous iguanodont ornithopod dinosaur found on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere in England, Spain and possibly also Romania. It lived during the Early Cretaceous. Discovery and naming I ...
canaliculatus'' (known from partial material) ** ''
Hypsilophodon ''Hypsilophodon'' (; meaning "''Hypsilophus''-tooth") is a neornithischian dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England. It has traditionally been considered an early member of the group Ornithopoda, but recent research has put this ...
foxii'': Named after Rev. William Fox, a fossil collector of the Isle of Wight who found several skeletons. * Suborder
Thyreophora Thyreophora ("shield bearers", often known simply as "armored dinosaurs") is a group of armored ornithischian dinosaurs that lived from the Early Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous. Thyreophorans are characterized by the presence of body ...
("shield-bearers", armored herbivorous dinosaurs) ** ''
Polacanthus ''Polacanthus'', deriving its name from the Ancient Greek polys-/πολύς- "many" and akantha/ἄκανθα "thorn" or "prickle", is an early armoured, spiked, plant-eating ankylosaurian dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period of England. I ...
foxii'': Also named after the Reverend Fox. Notable as no head to the specimen has ever been found and reconstructions are based upon suppositions from similar
ankylosauria Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. ...
ns. ** Spearpoint Ankylosaur


Order Saurischia

* Suborder
Sauropodomorpha Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lon ...
("sauropod-like", giant long-necked herbivores) ** The 'Barnes High' sauropod: A member of the
Brachiosauridae The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek ''brachion'' (βραχίων) = "arm" and ''sauros'' = "lizard") are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the ...
family, most likely ''
Eucamerotus ''Eucamerotus'' (meaning "well-chambered", in reference to the hollows of the vertebrae) was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation ( Wealden) of the Isle of Wight, England. History and taxonomy Jo ...
'' or ''
Pelorosaurus ''Pelorosaurus'' ( ; meaning "monstrous lizard") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur. Remains referred to ''Pelorosaurus'' date from the Early Cretaceous period, about 140-125 million years ago, and have been found in England and Port ...
'', in the collection of Dinosaur Farm. This is the most complete specimen from the Wealden era "including presacral vertebrae, anterior caudal vertebrae, girdle and limb elements". ** ''
Iuticosaurus ''Iuticosaurus'' (meaning "Jute lizard") is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight. Two species have been named: ''I. valdensis'' and ''I. lydekkeri''. ''I. valdensis'' was found in the Wessex Forma ...
valdensis'' ** ''
Oplosaurus ''Oplosaurus'' (meaning "armed or weapon lizard" or "armoured lizard"; see below for discussion) was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. It is known from a single to ...
armatusWright, T. (1852). Contributions to the palaeontology of the Isle of Wight. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' 2:87-93.'', a single tooth ** ''
Ornithopsis ''Ornithopsis'' (meaning "bird-likeness") was a medium-sized Early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur, from England. The type species, which is the only species seen as valid today, is ''O. hulkei''. History of discovery Gideon Algernon Mantell descr ...
hulkei'', posterior dorsal vertebra, a right pubis and ischium ** ''
Chondrosteosaurus ''Chondrosteosaurus'' (meaning "cartilage and bone lizard") was a sauropod dinosaur from Early Cretaceous England. The type species, ''Chondrosteosaurus gigas'', was described and named by Richard Owen in 1876. The fossils of ''Chondrosteosau ...
gigas'', two neck vertebrae ** ''
Eucamerotus ''Eucamerotus'' (meaning "well-chambered", in reference to the hollows of the vertebrae) was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation ( Wealden) of the Isle of Wight, England. History and taxonomy Jo ...
foxi'', vertebrae found in 1852 * Suborder
Theropod Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...
a ("beast foot", bipedal
carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
s) ** ''
Aristosuchus ''Aristosuchus'' is a genus of small coelurosaurian dinosaur whose name was derived from the Greek ἄριστος (meaning bravest, best, noblest) and ''σουχος'' (the Ancient Greek corruption of the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed go ...
pusillus'', a compsognathid ** ''
Baryonyx ''Baryonyx'' () is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in se ...
walkeri'': Teeth are common on the Island. Hand bones have also been found. ** ''
Ceratosuchops ''Ceratosuchops'' (meaning "horned crocodile face") is a genus of spinosaurid from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Britain. Discovery and naming In 2021, the type species ''C. inferodios'' was named and described by a team of paleonto ...
inferodios'' ** ''
Eotyrannus ''Eotyrannus'' (meaning "dawn tyrant") is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation beds, included in Wealden Group, located in the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The rem ...
lengi'': A
tyrannosauroid Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent b ...
. First identified in 1997 and named in 2001 from a single specimen found on the island. ** ''
Neovenator ''Neovenator'' (nee-o-ven-a-tor meaning "new hunter") is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian~130-125 million years ago) Wessex Formation on the south coa ...
salerii'': The
holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
skeleton was found on the island in 1978 but not described until 1996. ** ''
Riparovenator ''Riparovenator'' ("riverbank hunter") is a genus of baryonychine spinosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) period of Britain, the type species is ''Riparovenator milnerae''. Discovery and naming Between 2013 and 2017, spin ...
milnerae'' ** ''
Thecocoelurus ''Thecocoelurus'' is a nomen dubium, dubious genus of theropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period of England. The phylogenetic placement of this genus is uncertain, and it has been referred to an oviraptosaur, an ornithomimosaur, or a ther ...
daviesi'', partial vertebrae ** ''Vectiraptor greeni'', two partial dorsal vertebrae and parts of the sacrum found in 2003 and described in 2021. ** '' Vectaerovenator inopinatus'', found in 2019 from 4 vertebrae and named in 2020. ** ''
Yaverlandia ''Yaverlandia'' (meaning "of Yaverland Point/Yaverland Battery") is a genus of maniraptoran dinosaur. Known from a partial fossil skull (MIWG 1530) found in Lower Cretaceous strata of the Wessex Formation ( Upper Silty Bed; Vectis Formation) on t ...
bitholus'': The holotype partial skull was found at
Yaverland Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of ''Yaverlan ...
. It was initially believed to have belonged to a
pachycephalosauria Pachycephalosauria (; from Greek παχυκεφαλόσαυρος for 'thick headed lizards') is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. Along with Ceratopsia, it makes up the clade Marginocephalia. With the exception of two species, most pachycephal ...
n.


See also

* List of dinosaur finds in the United Kingdom


References

*Deborah Cadbury, ''The Dinosaur Hunters'' (Fourth Estate) ; a history of the early history of the discovery of dinosaurs in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Includes brief references to collectors on the island.


External links


Dinosaurs at Dinosaur Isle
The website of
Dinosaur Isle Dinosaur Isle is a purpose-built dinosaur museum located in Sandown on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The museum was designed by Isle of Wight architect Rainey Petrie Johns in the shape of a giant pterosaur. It claims to be the first cu ...
, an Isle of Wight palaeontological museum.
DinoWight - The Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight
Good site for general and scientific information
Dinosaur Attractions
Dinosaur Visitor attractions and things to do on the Isle of Wight
The Palaeontological Association
- Official website.

ScienceDaily, February 2009 news item on the discovery of diverse 48 species.


Other meanings

''Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight'' (
Palaeontological Association The Palaeontological Association (PalAss for short) is a charitable organisation based in the UK founded in 1957 for the promotion of the study of palaeontology and allied sciences. Publications The Association publishes two main journals: ' ...
, 2001) , is also the title of a field guide to dinosaurs found on the island, by
Darren Naish Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator. As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including ''Eotyrannus'', ''Xenopos ...
and
David Martill {{Short pages monitor