Vectidromeus
Combines 'Vectis', the Roman name for the Isle of Wight, England, with Greek 'dromeus' meaning 'runner'.
Early Cretaceous stages
Vectidromeus is an extinct genus of hypsilophodontid ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of England. The genus contains a single species, V. insularis, known from a partial skeleton belonging to a juvenile individual.
Under dispute
Vectidromeus was assigned to Hypsilophodontidae as the sister taxon of Hypsilophodon by Longrich and colleagues (2024) on the basis of morphological comparison; no cladistic analysis was performed, and the holotype is a juvenile.
Diagnosis
- Neural spines of dorsal vertebrae with convex dorsal margin, unlike straight margin in Hypsilophodon
- Ilium with short, ventrally directed pubic peduncle contrasting with long anteriorly projecting peduncle in other basal neornithischians
- Posterior iliac blade proportionately short and deep, derived condition
- Brevis fossa broadly exposed laterally, extending anteriorly towards ischiadic peduncle
- Ischium with broad, rectangular distal blade and small, weakly demarcated obturator process
- Femur with large, broad fourth trochanter with crescentic proximal margin and wide triangular tip
Species
Vectidromeus insularis Longrich et al., 2024
Type species
From Latin 'insularis' meaning 'insular' or 'of an island', referring to the Isle of Wight where the holotype was found.
- Holotype
- IWCMS 2023.102 , Dinosaur Isle Museum
- Material
- Partial skeleton of juvenile including dorsal neural arch, distal caudal vertebrae, ilia, pubis, ischia, femur, tibia, fibula, pes
- Horizon
- lower Sudmoor Point Sandstone Member, Wessex Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
- Locality
- Sudmoor Point, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
References
- Longrich, N. R.; Martill, D. M.; Munt, M.; Green, M.; Penn, M.; Smith, S. (2024). Vectidromeus insularis, a new hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. Cretaceous Research 154. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105707 longrich2024c