A new species of dinosaur with armored body has been discovered on the Isle of Wight, off the Southern coast of England. The fossil site where the new dinosaur species was found dates back between 66 to 145 million years and is the first new species of armored dinosaur to be found on the island since 1865.
The dinosaur belong to the family of Ankylosaurs (plant eating dinosaurs) and has been named Vectipelta barretti, after Professor Paul Barrett, the Head of Fossil Vertebrates at the Natural History Mussuem in London, who has worked there for over 20 years.
The first armored dinosaur Polacanthus foxii was found in the Island from fossil in 1865 and have been shown to differ from the current species of dinosaur, though closely related. Although the two ankylosaurs have some similarities, scientists noted that the new dinosaur has different types of neck, back and pelvic bones as well as more blade-like spiked armor than those of P. foxii
The V. barretti is though to be most closely related to some ankylosaurs from China suggesting that these dinosaurs moved freely across different continents.
The Isle of Wight has become a treasured site for more exploration. Scientists believe that the site holds the key to understanding the ankylosaur diversity and could unravel the mystery behind the now extinct dinosaurs.
ASVEK Science & Tech 