More than 25 years after it was first discovered, a new species and genus of dinosaur has been named from the fossil collections cared for by the Natural History Museum.

Paludohadros proudlovii was discovered at wienerberger's Ewhurst brick and roof tile works (Ewhurst Works) in Surrey in 2001 and subsequently donated to the Natural History Museum. It was a member of the iguanodontians – a group of dinosaurs known for their charismatic thumb-spikes.

Historically, iguanodontians found in southern England were considered to be either Iguanodon or its smaller relative Mantellisaurus. However, a detailed redescription of the latter by Natural History Museum scientists, published in 2023, has allowed key differences to be identified.

This has led to a flurry of newly named iguanodontians in the past few years, including Brighstoneus, Comptonatus, the sail-backed Istiorachis and now Paludohadros.

A reconstruction of the iguanodontian dinosaur Paludohadros proudlovii walking through mud along the edge of a shallow body of water. In the distance, the large predatory dinosaur Baryonyx can be seen. Picture courtesy of Guilherme Gehr/Natural History Museum

placeholder image — A reconstruction of the iguanodontian dinosaur Paludohadros proudlovii walking through mud along the edge of a shallow body of water. In the distance, the large predatory dinosaur Baryonyx can be seen. Picture courtesy of Guilherme Gehr/Natural History Museum

The four-legged herbivore lived around 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period, when iguanodontians were becoming widespread across the world. At the time, southern England would have been covered in muddy wetlands. This environment helped to give the dinosaur its name, as ‘palus’ means ‘swamp’ in Latin.

Meanwhile, the name of the species – proudlovii – honours Will Proudlove, a former employee of the Ewhurst Works who had worked his way up through the ranks to become manager. Sadly, Will died at the age of just 35 shortly before Paludohadros was excavated, leaving behind his wife Rachael as well as their young children Ellie and Matt.

Rachael Proudlove said: “Will always had an interest in dinosaur fossils and was fascinated about what, if anything, would be uncovered each time a layer of clay was removed from the quarry. Sadly, this dinosaur was only discovered the year after he died, but its story has become a part of our lives since then.

“We were invited to go and look at it being excavated back in 2001, so it’s amazing to hear all this time later that it’s not just a new species of dinosaur, but a new genus too. We’re absolutely overjoyed and honoured that Will’s name and legacy will live on in this dinosaur.”

Will Proudlove with his children Ellie and Matt. Picture courtesy of the Proudlove family/Natural History Museum

At around five metres long and around 1.5 to two tonnes in weight, Paludohadros proudlovii would have been a similar size to a rhino when it died. However, as its bones don’t appear to have been fully developed, it’s likely that this individual was still a juvenile – and could potentially have grown twice as large as an adult.

Paludohadros would have lived alongside a variety of other dinosaurs, including Baryonyx walkeri. This fearsome two-legged carnivore has frequently hit the headlines since being discovered at the Ewhurst Works in 1983, and the two dinosaurs might have had a close connection.

Senior author Professor Susannah Maidment of the Natural History Museum, London, and the University of Birmingham, said: “Paludohadros was found just 100 metres away from Baryonyx, whose fossils we also look after at the Natural History Museum. While Baryonyx is best known for eating fish, this dinosaur’s last meal also included a baby iguanodontian.

“We can’t tell for certain which species this came from, so it’s possible that Baryonyx could have been scavenging on the remains of young Paludohadros or even hunting them when it had the opportunity.”

Ellie Proudlove, daughter of Will, being shown the dinosaur during its excavation. Picture courtesy of Tim Burgess (Wienerberger Ltd)/Ellie Proudlove/Natural History Museum

The naming of Paludohadros and other iguanodontians in recent years has led to palaeontologists re-examining fossils in the Natural History Museum’s care, with several other Paludohadros specimens identified among specimens first collected in the 1950s. This reanalysis is set to continue over the coming years, with the potential for more species to be discovered.

Ricardo Sacamoto, a PhD student at the Natural History Museum, London and the University of São Paulo who led the research, said: “Paludohadros is the first species I’ve ever named and I’m honoured to have been able to work on it. I still remember the incredible moment when I realised that this was a new species that no one had ever identified before.

“I’m now going to go through the Natural History Museum’s iguanodontian collections to identify what’s there as part of my PhD. This could lead to the discovery of more new dinosaur species that haven’t yet been recognised.”

The paper ‘A new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Weald Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Smokejacks Brickworks, southern England’ was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.