Ever imagined a dinosaur with spiked armor roaming in your backyard? Well, researchers just discovered one!
Named Vectipelta barretti, this armored dinosaur, also known as an ankylosaur, was found on the Isle of Wight, England.
It’s the first of its kind to be discovered in this area for an astonishing 142 years!
Why is this so cool?
Because it gives us more information about the types of dinosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous period.
Until now, all ankylosaurs from the Isle of Wight were thought to be the same species, Polacanthus foxii.
But this discovery means that those fossils might need a second look. Vectipelta barretti is different from Polacanthus foxii in several ways, including its neck, back vertebrae, and even the structure of its pelvis and armor.
The researchers even figured out that it’s more closely related to some ankylosaurs in China than its neighbor, Polacanthus foxii!
The Early Cretaceous period is important for scientists to study because some believe that a mass extinction happened right before it, at the end of the Jurassic period.
So, learning about the different kinds of dinosaurs that lived during this time can help us understand how life recovered after that event.
Speaking of recovery, wouldn’t you like to know what the Isle of Wight was like during this time? It was a lot like the Mediterranean today and had a huge river system that frequently flooded.
These floods would gather plants, logs, and even dinosaur bodies and leave them in ponds on the floodplain. As the water retreated, these remains would be buried in the clay soil, preserving them as fossils for us to discover today.
Now, let’s talk about the guy this dino was named after – Prof Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum.
His colleagues decided to name Vectipelta barretti after him as a way to honor his contributions to dinosaur research and for being a fantastic mentor. He’s published over 220 scientific papers, mentored dozens of students, and helped raise a new generation of dinosaur lovers.
Upon hearing the news, Prof Barrett was delighted and joked that any physical resemblance between him and the dinosaur is purely accidental.
Finally, the researchers are hopeful that more new species await discovery on the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile, if you’re curious to see Vectipelta barretti, some of its bones will be on display at the Dinosaur Isle Museum during the school holidays.
So, the next time you’re thinking about dinosaurs, remember Vectipelta barretti – the armored, spike-backed dino that’s helping us understand how life bounced back after a mass extinction!
Isn’t that a tale worth telling your friends?
The paper was published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
