Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous)
Isolated spinosaurid teeth are relatively well represented in the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup of southern England, UK. Until recently it was assumed that these teeth were referable to Baryonyx, the type species (B. walkeri) and specimen of which is from the Barremian Upper Weald Clay Formati...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/15453.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797423965740728320 |
|---|---|
| author | Chris T. Barker Darren Naish Neil J. Gostling |
| author_facet | Chris T. Barker Darren Naish Neil J. Gostling |
| author_sort | Chris T. Barker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Isolated spinosaurid teeth are relatively well represented in the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup of southern England, UK. Until recently it was assumed that these teeth were referable to Baryonyx, the type species (B. walkeri) and specimen of which is from the Barremian Upper Weald Clay Formation of Surrey. British spinosaurid teeth are known from formations that span much of the c. 25 Ma depositional history of the Wealden Supergroup, and recent works suggest that British spinosaurids were more taxonomically diverse than previously thought. On the basis of both arguments, it is appropriate to doubt the hypothesis that isolated teeth from outside the Upper Weald Clay Formation are referable to Baryonyx. Here, we use phylogenetic, discriminant and cluster analyses to test whether an isolated spinosaurid tooth (HASMG G369a, consisting of a crown and part of the root) from a non-Weald Clay Formation unit can be referred to Baryonyx. HASMG G369a was recovered from an uncertain Lower Cretaceous locality in East Sussex but is probably from a Valanginian exposure of the Hastings Group and among the oldest spinosaurid material known from the UK. Spinosaurid affinities are both quantitatively and qualitatively supported, and HASMG G369a does not associate with Baryonyx in any analysis. This supports recent reinterpretations of the diversity of spinosaurid in the Early Cretaceous of Britain, which appears to have been populated by multiple spinosaurid lineages in a manner comparable to coeval Iberian deposits. This work also reviews the British and global records of early spinosaurids (known mainly from dental specimens), and revisits evidence for post-Cenomanian spinosaurid persistence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:55:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-418fba6b63854ba4894b15cc9993e300 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:55:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-418fba6b63854ba4894b15cc9993e3002023-12-03T01:03:32ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592023-05-0111e1545310.7717/peerj.15453Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous)Chris T. Barker0Darren Naish1Neil J. Gostling2Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomSchool of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomInstitute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomIsolated spinosaurid teeth are relatively well represented in the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup of southern England, UK. Until recently it was assumed that these teeth were referable to Baryonyx, the type species (B. walkeri) and specimen of which is from the Barremian Upper Weald Clay Formation of Surrey. British spinosaurid teeth are known from formations that span much of the c. 25 Ma depositional history of the Wealden Supergroup, and recent works suggest that British spinosaurids were more taxonomically diverse than previously thought. On the basis of both arguments, it is appropriate to doubt the hypothesis that isolated teeth from outside the Upper Weald Clay Formation are referable to Baryonyx. Here, we use phylogenetic, discriminant and cluster analyses to test whether an isolated spinosaurid tooth (HASMG G369a, consisting of a crown and part of the root) from a non-Weald Clay Formation unit can be referred to Baryonyx. HASMG G369a was recovered from an uncertain Lower Cretaceous locality in East Sussex but is probably from a Valanginian exposure of the Hastings Group and among the oldest spinosaurid material known from the UK. Spinosaurid affinities are both quantitatively and qualitatively supported, and HASMG G369a does not associate with Baryonyx in any analysis. This supports recent reinterpretations of the diversity of spinosaurid in the Early Cretaceous of Britain, which appears to have been populated by multiple spinosaurid lineages in a manner comparable to coeval Iberian deposits. This work also reviews the British and global records of early spinosaurids (known mainly from dental specimens), and revisits evidence for post-Cenomanian spinosaurid persistence.https://peerj.com/articles/15453.pdfSpinosauridBaryonyxTheropodTeethMorphometricsLower Cretaceous |
| spellingShingle | Chris T. Barker Darren Naish Neil J. Gostling Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) PeerJ Spinosaurid Baryonyx Theropod Teeth Morphometrics Lower Cretaceous |
| title | Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) |
| title_full | Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) |
| title_fullStr | Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) |
| title_short | Isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the British Wealden Supergroup (Lower Cretaceous) |
| title_sort | isolated tooth reveals hidden spinosaurid dinosaur diversity in the british wealden supergroup lower cretaceous |
| topic | Spinosaurid Baryonyx Theropod Teeth Morphometrics Lower Cretaceous |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/15453.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christbarker isolatedtoothrevealshiddenspinosauriddinosaurdiversityinthebritishwealdensupergrouplowercretaceous AT darrennaish isolatedtoothrevealshiddenspinosauriddinosaurdiversityinthebritishwealdensupergrouplowercretaceous AT neiljgostling isolatedtoothrevealshiddenspinosauriddinosaurdiversityinthebritishwealdensupergrouplowercretaceous |