An artist’s impression of the dinosaur. Credit: John Sibbick
SciTechDaily has a story about a new dinosaur found on the Isle of Wight. The animal, Comptonatus chasei, lived about 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It was found by fossil collector Nick Chase and named for him. Nick has tragically died of cancer. The description was published in "Comptonatus chasei, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England", which appeared in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
A new paper describes the most complete dinosaur discovered in this country in the past century. The specimen, approximately 125 million years old and featuring a pubic hip bone the size of a dinner plate, was found in 2013 in the cliffs of Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight. The discovery was made by fossil collector Nick Chase before he tragically died of cancer.
Jeremy Lockwood, a retired GP and University of Portsmouth PhD student, helped with the dinosaur’s excavation and has spent years analyzing the 149 different bones that make up the skeleton. Jeremy determined that the skeleton represented a new genus and species, which he named Comptonatus chasei in tribute to Nick.
Jeremy said: “Nick had a phenomenal nose for finding dinosaur bones – he really was a modern-day Mary Anning. He collected fossils daily in all weathers and donated them to museums. I was hoping we’d spend our dotage collecting together as we were of similar ages, but sadly that wasn’t to be the case. Despite his many wonderful discoveries over the years, including the most complete Iguanodon skull ever found in Britain, this is the first dinosaur to be named after him.”
