The
Isle of Wight is one of the richest
dinosaur localities in
Europe, with over 20
species of dinosaur having been recognised from the early
Cretaceous Period (in particular between 132 and 110
million years ago), some of which were first identified on the island, as well as the contemporary non-dinosaurian species of
crocodile,
turtle and
pterosaur.
The Isle of Wight has layers of the
Vectis and
Wealdenfossil-bearing
beds exposed on the southern half of the island. These are revealed in the cliffs of
Yaverland, close to
Sandown, and at
Hanover Point and Whale
Chine, along the southwestern coast.
The Cretaceous habitat
The island's dinosaurs come from the
Wessex Formation, 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 resides today, had a
subtropical environment and was part of a large
river valley complex, which ran along the south coast of
England to
Belgium. It was a world of ponds,
rivers and
swamps, so it had conditions favourable for the formation of fossils.
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.
Polacanthus 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
ankylosaurians.
The 'Barnes High' sauropod: A member of the
Brachiosauridae family, most likely Eucamerotus or Pelorosaurus, in the collection of Dinosaur Farm.[3][4] This is the most complete specimen from the Wealden era "including presacral vertebrae, anterior caudal vertebrae, girdle and limb elements".[5]
Deborah Cadbury, The Dinosaur Hunters (Fourth Estate)
ISBN1-85702-963-1; a history of the early history of the discovery of dinosaurs in the
United Kingdom. Includes brief references to collectors on the island.