The Discovery
In 2001, a partial dinosaur skeleton was excavated at a Surrey brickworks in southern England. Further analysis of the remains revealed that they belong to a previously unidentified genus and species of an early-diverging hadrosauroid iguanodontian, which researchers have named Paludohadros proudlovii. Recovered from the Weald Clay Formation at Smokejacks Brickworks, it is the first iguanodontian dinosaur to be formally named from this specific geological site.
What Scientists Found
This newly identified species was a member of the iguanodontians, a diverse group of plant-eating dinosaurs famous for having spikes on their thumbs. The animal lived roughly 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, inhabiting the swampy lowlands of present-day Surrey.
The fossilized specimen provided several key physical details:
- The individual measured approximately 5 meters (16 feet) long and had an estimated weight of 1.5 to 2 tons, making it roughly the size of a modern rhinoceros.
- Because its bones had not yet fully matured, paleontologists concluded that this specimen was likely a juvenile capable of reaching up to double its size at full maturity.
- The broader group to which it belongs, Iguanodontia, is one of the earliest named dinosaur groups and includes fossils spanning from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous.
Why It Matters
The location of the find offers rare insight into ancient food chains. The skeleton was uncovered just 100 meters (328 feet) away from the remains of Baryonyx, a predatory dinosaur widely recognized for eating fish. Because the final meal of that Baryonyx included a juvenile iguanodontian, scientists speculate that Baryonyx may have hunted or scavenged young Paludohadros proudlovii.
The discovery was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. The research team was led by Ricardo Sacamoto, a Ph.D. student at the Natural History Museum, London, and the University of São Paulo, along with senior author Professor Susannah Maidment of the Natural History Museum, London, and the University of Birmingham.
Source: dinosaur fossil discovery - BingNews · Published October 27, 2026 · Photo by Dick Hoogerdijk on Unsplash
