This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: More than 25 years after it was first discovered, a new species and genus of dinosaur have been named from the fossil collections cared for by the Natural History Museum. Paludohadros proudlovii was discovered at wienerberger's Ewhurst brick and roof tile works (Ewhurst Works) in Surrey in 2001 and subsequently donated to the Natural History Museum.
It was a member of the iguanodontians—a group of dinosaurs known for their charismatic thumb spikes. The paper "A new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Weald Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Smokejacks Brickworks, southern England" is published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Historically, iguanodontians found in southern England were considered to be either Iguanodon or its smaller relative Mantellisaurus.
However, a detailed redescription of the latter by Natural History Museum scientists, published in 2023, has allowed key differences to be identified. This has led to a flurry of newly named iguanodontians in the past few years, including Brighstoneus, Comptonatus, the sail-backed Istiorachis and now Paludohadros. The four-legged herbivore lived around 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period, when iguanodontians were becoming widespread across the world.
At the time, southern England would have been covered in muddy wetlands. This environment helped to give the dinosaur its name, as "palus" means "swamp" in Latin. Meanwhile, the name of the species—proudlovii—honors Will Proudlove, a former employee of the Ewhurst Works who had worked his way up through the ranks to become manager.
Will died at the age of 35 shortly before Paludohadros was excavated, leaving behind his wife Rachael as well as their young children Ellie and Matt. Rachael Proudlove says, "Will always had an interest in dinosaur fossils and was fascinated about what, if anything, would be uncovered each time a layer of clay was removed from the quarry. Sadly, this dinosaur was only discovered the year after he died, but its story has become a part of our lives since then." "We were invited to go and look at it being excavated back in 2001, so it's amazing to hear all this time later that it's not just a new species of dinosaur, but a new genus too.
We're absolutely overjoyed and honored that Will's name and legacy will live on in this dinosaur." At around 5 meters (16 feet) long and around 1.5 to 2 tonnes (1.7 to 2.2 tons) in weight, Paludohadros proudlovii would have been a similar size to a rhino when it died. However, as its bones don't appear to have been fully developed, it's likely that this individual was still a juvenile—and could potentially have grown twice as large as an adult. Paludohadros would have lived alongside a variety of other dinosaurs, including Baryonyx walkeri.
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