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A new look at Baryonyx walkeri (Charig and Milner, 1986) based upon a recent fossil find from the Wealden Steve
Hutt, Dinosaur Isle The discovery of a remarkable vertebra from the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight allows comparison with a highly specialized taxon of theropod dinosaurs: the Spinosauroidea. We have examined the holotype skeleton of Baryonyx walkeri (Charig and Milner, 1986) and conclude that the new find is closely related to Baryonyx from the United Kingdom and to Suchomimus tenerensis (Sereno et al.1998) from North Africa. We present evidence for a reconfiguration of part of the spinal column of Baryonyx. We also suggest that Suchomimus should be regarded as Baryonyx tenerensis, based partly on the information derived from this important new fossil from the Isle of Wight. Simon Clabby 2006 |
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So... what is Yaverlandia? Darren Naish, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth Yaverlandia bitholus Galton, 1971, from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, is Britain's most controversial dinosaur. Based only on two fused frontals (plus possible fragments of attached elements), it is allegedly a small pachycephalosaur, but it is clearly an unusual one, different in most details from other members of the group. Though most authors have accepted the pachycephalosaurian identity of Yaverlandia proposed by Galton, the differences have prompted all those who (post-Galton 1971) examined the specimen first-hand to question or reject its alleged pachycephalosaurian status. A reanalysis of the type and only known specimen reveals a number of unusual features that have not been previously highlighted. Viewed within the context of pachycephalosaur phylogeny, Yaverlandia is a paradox combining an unusual combination of both basal and highly derived characters. It is more likely that Yaverlandia is not a pachycephalosaur, and indeed it differs from all ornithischians in some important respects. So, what is Yaverlandia? Several unofficially suggested alternative identifications for Yaverlandia are shown to be erroneous. Overlooked thus far is the fact that Yaverlandia exhibits derived characters of a clade with which it has not previously been linked. Simon Clabby 2006 |
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Faunal diversity in a British Early Cretaceous (Barremian) ecosystem Steven C. Sweetman, Palaeobiology Research Group, University of Portsmouth Comprehensive bulk screening of Early Cretaceous (Barremian) strata of the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight southern England has yielded an unexpectedly diverse microvertebrate fauna together with fragmentary but significant remains of hitherto unknown elements of the associated macrofauna. At least 27 previously unrecorded vertebrate taxa have been recovered some of which represent new genera and most of which represent new species. The fauna includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, pterosaurs, lizards, frogs, salamanders, an albanerpetontid, mammals and osteichthyan and chondrichthyan fishes. In view of the scarcity of freshwater/terrestrial deposits of similar age elsewhere in the world this fauna is of considerable importance and complements the already known macro-herpetofauna which is without parallel elsewhere in Europe and which provides a valuable insight into dinosaur faunas and their evolution between the Late Jurassic and mid Cretaceous. Techniques employed in the recovery of the microvertebrate fauna have also resulted in the recovery of previously unrecorded invertebrates and plants all of which will, in due course, further contribute to a better understanding of an intriguing, complex Barremian ecosystem. Simon Clabby 2006 |
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