New species of armoured dinosaur discovered on Isle of Wight
A brand new dinosaur species with an armoured physique has been found on the Isle of Wight.
It was present in a fossil web site courting again between 145 to 66 million years in the past known as the Wessex Foundation.
The new species belongs to the plant-eating ankylosaur group and has been named Vectipelta barretti – after Professor Paul Barrett who’s labored on the Natural History Museum for 20 years.
It’s the second armoured dinosaur discovered on the island after Polacanthus foxii in 1865.
The new discover has completely different neck and again bones to its predecessor, with evaluation exhibiting contrasting pelvic buildings and extra spiked armour.
Experts say it is most intently associated to some Chinese ankylosaurs, suggesting they roamed between Asia and Europe within the Early Cretaceous interval.
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Stuart Pond, a Natural History Museum researcher, mentioned: “For virtually 142 years, all ankylosaur remains from the Isle of Wight have been assigned to Polacanthus foxii… now all of those finds need to be revisited because we’ve described this new species.”
He added: “This is an important specimen because it sheds light on ankylosaur diversity within the Wessex formation and Early Cretaceous England.”
Professor Paul Barrett mentioned he was “flattered and absolutely delighted” that the dinosaur had been named after him – and that any bodily resemblance “is purely accidental”.
The analysis is printed within the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.