Multiple species of semi-aquatic dinosaur may have roamed pre-historic
Britain

Date:
June 1, 2023
Source:
University of Southampton
Summary:
Palaeontologists studying a British dinosaur tooth have concluded
that several distinct groups of spinosaurs -- dinosaurs with
fearsome crocodile-like skulls -- inhabited southern England over
100 million years ago.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Palaeontologists at the University of Southampton (UK) studying a British dinosaur tooth have concluded that several distinct groups of spinosaurs
- - dinosaurs with fearsome crocodile-like skulls -- inhabited southern
England over 100 million years ago.

The team, from the University's EvoPalaeoLab, carried out a series
of tests on the 140 million year old tooth, discovered in the early
20th century, in a thick, complicated rock structure named the Wealden Supergroup. The Wealden lies across south-eastern England and was formed
around 140-125 million years ago.

The scientists conducted statistical analysis on the tooth, which is
stored at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery in East Sussex. They
meticulously compared its characteristics with other species in the
spinosaur 'family' of dinosaurs to which it belongs. Their findings,
published in the journal PeerJ, confirm the tooth doesn't match that of
any identified spinosaur species.

Project supervisor, Dr Neil Gostling explains: "While we can't formally identify a new species from one tooth, we can say this spinosaur tooth
doesn't match any of the existing species we know about. Given how many individual teeth exist in collections, this could be just the tip of
the iceberg and it's quite possible that Britain may have once teemed
with a diverse range of these semi-aquatic, fish-eating dinosaurs."
The Wealden is famous for its spinosaur fossils. Baryonyx -- discovered
in Surrey in 1983 -- is one of the world's most significant spinosaur specimens, since it was the first to reveal the true appearance of this crocodile-headed group. Less impressive spinosaur remains -- isolated
teeth -- are common throughout the Wealden, and have often been identified
as belonging to Baryonyx. However, some experts have long suspected that
this is incorrect.

"We used a variety of techniques to identify this specimen, in order to
test whether isolated spinosaur teeth could be referred to Baryonyx,"
said lead author Chris Barker, whose PhD focuses on the spinosaurs of
southern Britain.

"The tooth did not group with Baryonyx in any of our data runs. It must
belong to a different type of spinosaur." The results show that distinct
and distantly related spinosaur types lived in the region during Early Cretaceous times. This backs up research by the EvoPalaeoLab team, who
argued in previous studies that the spinosaurs of southern England are
more diverse than previously thought.

In 2021, they named the 'Hell Heron' Ceratosuchops from the Isle of
Wight, and in 2022 announced the discovery of what might be Europe's
largest ever land predator, a giant known only as the 'White Rock'
spinosaur. These several spinosaurs did not all live at the same time,
but inhabited the region over the course of more than 15 million years.

"Museums themselves are places to make exciting discoveries as our understanding of specimens changes from the time they were deposited,"
said Dr Neil Gostling. "What this work highlights is the importance
of keeping collections alive, and developing our understanding of
them. Curators are essential to help us navigate the cupboards and
displays, helping us to unpick the often-incomplete records -- either
never fully recorded, or lost to time.

The diversity of palaeoenvironments is not always hidden in rocks, it is
often waiting in a museum, its importance waiting to be rediscovered!" Co-author Darren Naish said "Dinosaur teeth preserve numerous anatomical details, and we can use various analytical techniques to see how
similar, or different, they are to other teeth. Our new study shows
that previously unrecognised spinosaur species exist in poorly known
sections of the Wealden's history, and we hope that better remains will
be discovered that improves our knowledge. Here's another reminder that
even well-studied places like southern England have the potential to
yield new dinosaur species."
* RELATED_TOPICS
o Plants_&_Animals
# New_Species # Extinction # Nature # Biology
o Fossils_&_Ruins
# Dinosaurs # Fossils # Ancient_DNA # Paleontology
* RELATED_TERMS
o Dinosaur o Ichthyosaur o Feathered_dinosaurs o
Parallel_evolution o Albertosaurus o Jurassic o Brachiosaurus
o Canine_hybrids

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Southampton. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Spinosaur_tooth ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Chris T. Barker, Darren Naish, Neil J. Gostling. Isolated tooth
reveals
hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden
Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous). PeerJ, 2023; 11: e15453 DOI:
10.7717/peerj.15453 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230601160144.htm

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