Possible baryonychid dinosaur teeth from the Wessex Formation
(I ower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the
Isle of Wight, England

David M. Martill* and Steve Huttf

MARTILL, D. M. gt BUTT, S. 1996. Possible baryonychid dinosaur teeth from the Wessex Formation fLower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 107, 81 — 84. Isolated, laterally compressed, recurved teeth of theropod dinosaurs from the Wessex Formation (Barremian) of the Isle of Wight are distinguished from other theropod teeth by their finely denticulate carinae and by lingual and labial longitudinal faceting. These teeth are comparable with those of Baryonyx ivalkeri Charig Ik Milner 1986 and are tentatively assigned to the enigmatic theropod family Baryonychidae.

* Department of Geology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth POI 3QL.

f Ivluseum of Isle of Wight Geology, Sandovvn, Isle of Wight PO36 8AF.

1. INTRODUCTION

Dinosaur remains are abundant in the clays and sandstones of the Wessex Formation, Wealden Group, of the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, England (see Benton k Spencer, 1995 for a review of Wealden Group reptile localities) (Fig.

1). The area has become famous for both the abundance and diversity of its dinosaur fauna which includes the ornithopods Hypsilophodon, Valdosaurus, and Eguanodon {Sues 4, Norman, 1991; Norman k Weishampel, 1991), the ankylosaur Polacanrhus (Blows, 19&7), the brachiosaur sauropods Pelerosaurus and Chondrosteosaurus (McIntosh, 1991), a diplodocid sauropod (Charig, 1980} and theropods. Until recently, theropods from the Isle of Wight were repre- sented only by isolated bones and teeth. Isolated teeth have usually been referred to Megalosaurus sp., while a syn- sacrum, originally thought to belong to a pterosaur, and named Ornirhodesmus, has been shown to be from a maniraptoran thempod, possibly with affinities to the Troodontidae (Howse 4 Milner, 1993). Lydekker (19&8) referred five isolated theropod tooth crowns (BMNH R210} from the Isle of Wight to Megalosaurus dunkeri Dames, but later considered that they might be referred to Megalosaurus oweni Lydekker {Lydekker, 1890). As

oweni Mis based on a right metatarsus, these teeth cannot be referred to this taxon. Additionally, M dunkeri is based on an isolated and worn tooth from the Wealden of