Fossils of dinosaur teeth, discovered with assistance from a former quarry worker, have shed light on how the formidable tyrannosaur once inhabited Bexhill-on-Sea.
A research led by the University of Southampton has revealed that various species of carnivorous dinosaurs once prowled the coastal area of East Sussex 135 million years ago. This marks the first instance of tyrannosaurs being recognized in sediments from this specific age and location.
The fossils were unearthed by retired quarry worker Dave Brockhurst, who has dedicated the past 30 years to finding fossils at Ashdown Brickworks.
“Meat-eating dinosaurs – properly called theropods – are rare in the Cretaceous sediments of southern England,” said Dr Chris Barker, visiting researcher at the University of Southampton and lead author of the research. “Usually, Isle of Wight dinosaurs attract most of our attention. Much less is known about the older Cretaceous specimens recovered from sites on the mainland.”
A recent study has revealed a diverse community of predators from various dinosaur groups, including tyrannosaurs, spinosaurs, and members of the velociraptor family. According to the report, the tyrannosaurs are believed to have been approximately one-third the size of their more well-known relative, Tyrannosaurus rex.
The extensive collecting efforts of Mr. Brockhurst have been crucial to this discovery, as he has uncovered thousands of specimens over nearly 30 years, which include everything from partial dinosaur skeletons to small shark teeth.
Around 5000 of his discoveries have already been donated to Bexhill Museum. Theropods are exceptionally rare at the site, and Dave has only found ten or so specimens there so far.
“As a child, I was fascinated by dinosaurs and never thought how close they could be,” says Mr Brockhurst. “Many years later, I started work at Ashdown and began looking for fossils. I’m happy with tiny fish scales or huge thigh bones, although the preservation of the dinosaur teeth really stands out for me.”
The new Bexhill-on-Sea dinosaurs are represented by teeth alone. Theropod teeth are complex and vary in size, shape, and the anatomy of their serrated edges. The University of Southampton team used several techniques to analyze the fossils, including phylogenetic, discriminant, and machine learning methods, teaming up with colleagues at London’s Natural History Museum, the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, and the Museo Miguel Lillo De Ciencias Naturales in Argentina.
“Southern England has an exceptionally good record of Cretaceous dinosaurs, and various sediment layers here are globally unique in terms of geological age and the fossils they contain,” said Dr Darren Naish, a co-author of the study.
“These East Sussex dinosaurs are older than those from the better-known Cretaceous sediments of the Isle of Wight and are mysterious and poorly known by comparison. We’ve hoped for decades to find out which theropod groups lived here, so the conclusions of our new study are really exciting.”
Journal reference:
- Chris T. Barker, Lucy Handford, Darren Naish, Simon Wills, Christophe Hendrickx, Phil Hadland, Dave Brockhurst, Neil J. Gostling. Theropod dinosaur diversity of the lower English Wealden: analysis of a tooth-based fauna from the Wadhurst Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Valanginian) via phylogenetic, discriminant and machine learning methods. Papers in Palaeontology, 2024; DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1604
