New Dinosaur Species Described at London Museum

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of herbivorous dinosaur, Paludohadros proudlovii. Its partial skeleton was discovered in July 2001 in a quarry in Surrey and transferred to the Natural History Museum in London. The bones remained there for about 25 years before researchers recognized them as belonging to a previously unknown dinosaur.

Scientists re-examined the bones and compared them with the remains of related iguanodonts. The new species is distinguished by features of the arm and leg bones, as well as the pelvis. These characteristics allowed it to be identified as a separate genus and species.

The dinosaur lived about 125 million years ago. The specimen found was about five metres long and weighed between 1.5 and 2 tonnes. Based on the condition of the bones, researchers suggest that the animal had not yet reached adulthood.

Additional bones with the same distinctive features were found among fossils collected from the same quarry as far back as the 1950s. This indicates that remains of this dinosaur had been found before, but its species was not recognized at the time.

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Translation editor: Ловушкин А.