Search

Completing our survey of British non-avian dinosaurs, we here review the ornithischians of Britain. Heterodontosaurids are present in the Lower Cretaceous Lulworth Formation of Dorset, and a few earlier possible records imply a long presence in the region of this clade. Britain's thyreophoran record is rich and includes the earliest well-represented taxon, Scelidosaurus, as well as Middle Jurassic stegosaurs and ankylosaurs including a reasonably good Cretaceous record of polacanthids and nodosaurids. Cretaceous stegosaurs are known only from fragmentary remains, but the proposal that stegosaurs were present as early as the Rhaetian is rejected. Among British iguanodontian ornithopods, the possible dryosaurid Callovosaurus is the oldest global record whereas the proposed synonymy of Cumnoria with Camptosaurus requires confirmation. lguanodon has become a taxonomic dumping ground for assorted iguanodontians and is in need of revision: most of the British species referred to this genus are almost certainly not closely allied to the neotype species I. bernissartensis and require new generic names. Fragmentary remains suggest the early presence of hadrosaurids in Britain. The only British record of Marginocephalia, the Wessex Formation skull roof named Yaverlandia bitholus, appears not to belong to this clade but seems to be from a maniraptoran theropod.

Beginning with Buckland's 1824 description of Megalosaurus, the Geological Society of London played a leading role during the 19th century discovery of dinosaurs in Britain. Here we review the society's role and assess the current knowledge of saurischian dinosaurs in the country. Of Britain's 108 dinosaur species (excluding nomina nuda and objective synonyms), 32% have been named in the pages of Society publications. Britain has a rich and diverse dinosaur record ranging from the Rhaetian to the Cenomanian, and includes a surprising taxonomic diversity. Alleged Lower and Middle Triassic dinosaurs from Britain are suspect or erroneous. Sauropodomorphs represent all of the major clades and several have their earliest global appearances in the British record (Diplodocoidea, Rebbachisauridae and Titanosauria), implying that this region was biogeographically important for this group. The British theropod record is diverse, and includes the earliest spinosaurids, carcharodontosaurids and coelurosaurs. Although some specimens are represented by near-complete skeletons, much material is fragmentary and indeterminate, and c. 54% of British dinosaur taxa are considered nomina dubia. In part this high number results from the genesis of dinosaur science in Britain and the corresponding obsolescence of supposedly diagnostic characters.

A fragmentary specimen of pterosaur originally assigned to the genus Pterodaustro Bonaparte, 1970 is reassessed. The presence of a sagittal dorsal cranial crest on a fragment of nasopreorbital arcade with linear vertical trabeculae and the occurrence of alveolar protuberances on the os dentale indicate the new specimen has similarities with crested pterodactyloid pterosaurs of the family Ctenochasmatidae, and with members of the Dsungaripteridae. The presence of alveolar protuberances allows us to assign the specimen to the Dsungaripteridae. It forms the basis of a new genus and species, Domeykodactylus ceciliae.