Open Paleo

Comptonatus

Lockwood et al., 2024 COMP-tuh-NAH-tuss

From Compton (the village near the Isle of Wight discovery site) + Latin tonatus ('thundered'), meaning 'the Compton thunderer'.

125.8–121.4 million years ago Barremian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Comptonatus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Its remains are known from the Wessex Formation in England. The type and only species is C. chasei.

Diagnosis

  1. Parietal 'tubercle' and step dorsolateral to ascending process of supraoccipital
  2. Exoccipital bar/bridge overhangs the exoccipital pillar
  3. Dentary straight across entire ventral margin in lateral view
  4. Tall neural spines on proximal caudal vertebrae (neural spine >3× height of centrum, ~4× in Cd1)
  5. Coracoid boss on dorsolateral medial surface, with medial cavity buttressed by cornuate ridge
  6. Prepubic blade markedly dorsoventrally expanded, ratio of maximum to minimum depth ~2.5

Species

Comptonatus chasei Lockwood et al., 2024

Type species

Named for the late Nick Chase, who discovered the holotype specimen and won the Paleontological Association's Mary Anning Award in 2018.

Holotype
IWCMS 2014.80 , Dinosaur Isle Museum
Material
Almost complete skeleton: skull elements, presacral and caudal vertebrae, both scapulae, coracoids, sternal bones, limb bones, both ilia, pubes, ischia, and pes elements.
Horizon
Wessex Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

References

  1. Lockwood, J. A. F.; Martill, D. M.; Maidment, S. C. R. (2024). Comptonatus chasei, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 22(1). Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2346573 lockwood2024a