The Isle of Wight is one of the richest dinosaur sites in the world, yielding around 15 different species, some of which are unique to the island. Almost all of the dinosaur fossils date from the Cretaceous period (around 145 – 65 million years ago). The Isle of Wight’s dinosaur fossils are significant because there are hardly any dinosaur bones of exactly the same age anywhere else in the world.
When dinosaurs roamed the Isle of Wight, the location of the island was on the latitude where North Africa is in the modern day. During this time the island had a sub-tropical climate, the environment was a lot wetter and swampier, and was part of a complex of river valleys. This environment is the reason for the well-preserved fossils, as is explained in Jurassic Park! The dead dinosaur rots down to its bones, which are then sealed by mud, hardening and preserving them. Layers of chalk, stone and mud then build up on top of them, until they are dug up millions of years later by palaeontologists. In the case of the Isle of Wight, the cliff erosion that occurs at places like Yaverland and Compton Bay has caused the cliff lines to retreat, exposing the fossils in the cliff.
Due to the richness of the Island as a fossil hunting location, you will find several museums and shops where you can learn more about the fossils that have been discovered here. The fossil shops on the island include one at Blackgang Chine amusement park. Route 6 serves the amusement park on its way between Newport and Ventnor, and in the summer the Island Coaster also stops here.
There are also a few museums. Dinosaur Isle is the first purpose-built dinosaur museum. Located on Sandown seafront, experts here take group fossil walks down to Yaverland beach. There is also an open section of lab inside the museum where visitors can talk to
palaeontologists (dinosaur bone experts) about the bones found on the island, as well as animatronic models of several of the most famous dinosaurs. The museum is on route 10 as well as the Sandown road train.
As well as Dinosaur Isle, there is the Dinosaur Farm museum on the Military Road, Brighstone. This is the oldest dinosaur museum on the island, established in 1993, and is on the site where the ‘Barnes High’ Sauropod was discovered. There are also fossil walks from the museum to the beach with experts on hand to identify anything you find. The museum also runs a free identification service so if you find anything yourself you can take it along to have it identified. In the museum there are lots of fossils on display as well as a variety of children’s activities. The island coaster bus from Newport goes near the museums location.
As well as the museum-run dinosaur walks you can always go out fossil hunting yourself! Prime locations for fossil hunting or spotting are Yaverland, Cowleaze Chine, Brook Bay and Compton Bay, and at the latter two you can spot fossilised Iguanodon footprints on the beach at low tide. A good place to look for a guide to fossil hunting and identification on the island is ‘Fossil Hunting on Dinosaur Island’ by Martin Simpson, which includes
information, pictures and diagrams about fossils you may find, as well as tips on where to look for fossils.
Eotyrannus was first discovered on the South coast of the Isle of Wight by Gavin Leng, and was described and identified in 2001 by Steve Hutt, a palaeontologist who currently works at Dinosaur Isle in Sandown. Meaning ‘dawn tyrant’, reflecting its relationship to the famous carnivore Tyrannosaurus Rex, it lived during the early Cretaceous period and most likely hunted Iguanodon and Hypsilophodon.
It is only known from a partial skeleton, but from this experts have managed to determine that this example was around 4m long, but was not fully grown. It may have been around 6m long at full height. It is speculated that it killed its prey by a combination of biting and raking with its claws.
Eotyrannus is part of the
Tyrannosaurid family of dinosaurs, a family of carnivorous dinosaurs that includes Tyrannosaurs Rex and Tarbosaurus, and the discovery of Eotyrannus shows an evolutionary predecessor to these famous dinosaurs. The bones found on the island are extremely important as they represent the only known example of Eotyrannus in existence, as well as raising questions about the speculated Asian origin for the Tyrannosaurid family.
There are around 15 different species of dinosaur on the island, as well as pterosaur remains and several species of marine animals such as sharks and crocodiles. Some of the more well-known species of dinosaur include Polocanthus, Iguanodon, Baryonyx and Hypsilophodon. Other species found include Neovenator, the only known British relation to Allosaurus, and the rare dinosaur Valdosaurus, other remains of which have only been discovered in Africa. Other than these finds, some dinosaur remains have been foundthat represent the only example of the species in the world. These include Yaverlandia, which that belongs to a dinosaur family that includes birds and small carnivores, and Eotyrannus, the oldest know relation to the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex.