''Mantellisaurus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
iguanodontian
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
that lived in the
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...
and early
Aptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...
ages of the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
Period of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Its remains are known from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(
Bernissart),
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The
type and only species is ''M. atherfieldensis''. Formerly known as ''
Iguanodon atherfieldensis'', the new genus ''Mantellisaurus'' was erected for the species by
Gregory Paul in 2007. According to Paul, ''Mantellisaurus'' was more lightly built than ''Iguanodon'' and more closely related to ''
Ouranosaurus
''Ouranosaurus'' is a genus of herbivorous basal hadrosauriform dinosaur that lived during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous of modern-day Niger and Cameroon. ''Ouranosaurus'' measured about long. Two rather complete fossils were found in ...
'', making ''Iguanodon'' in its traditional sense
paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
. It is known from many complete and almost complete skeletons. The genus name honours
Gideon Mantell, the discoverer of ''Iguanodon''.
History of discovery
Discovery and naming of the holotype
![Mantellisaurus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Mantellisaurus.jpg)
The
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
fossil, NHMUK R5764, was originally discovered by
Reginald Walter Hooley
Reginald Walter Hooley (5 September 1865 – 5 May 1923) was a businessman and amateur paleontologist, collecting on the Isle of Wight. He is probably best remembered for describing the dinosaur ''Iguanodon atherfieldensis'', now ''Mantellisaurus ...
in 1914 in the upper
Vectis Formation of southern England and reported upon in 1917. He posthumously named it ''Iguanodon atherfieldensis'' in 1925.
Atherfield is the name of a village on the southwest shore of the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
where the fossil was found.
The Maidstone specimen and "''Mantellodon''"
![Mantell's Iguanodon restoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Mantell%27s_Iguanodon_restoration.jpg)
The Maidstone specimen was discovered in a quarry in
Maidstone,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, owned by William Harding Bensted, in February 1834 (lower
Lower Greensand Formation). In June 1834 it was acquired for £25 by scientist
Gideon Mantell. He was led to identify it as an ''
Iguanodon'' based on its distinctive teeth. The Maidstone slab was utilized in the first skeletal reconstructions and artistic renderings of ''Iguanodon'', but due to its incompleteness, Mantell made some mistakes, the most famous of which was the placement of what he thought was a
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
on the nose.
Shortly after the discovery, tension began to build between Mantell and
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils.
Owe ...
, an ambitious scientist with much better funding and society connections in the turbulent worlds of
Reform Act
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
–era British politics and science. Owen, at the time a firm
creationist, opposed the early versions of
evolutionary science ("
transmutationism") then being debated and used what he would soon coin as dinosaurs as a weapon in this conflict. With the paper describing Dinosauria, he scaled down dinosaurs from lengths of over 61 metres (200 ft), determined that they were not simply giant lizards, and put forward that they were advanced and mammal-like, characteristics given to them by
God; according to the understanding of the time, they could not have been "transmuted" from reptiles to mammal-like creatures.
[Torrens, Hugh. "Politics and Paleontology". ''The Complete Dinosaur,'' 175–190.]
![Maidstone fossil Iguanodon 1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Maidstone_fossil_Iguanodon_1840.jpg)
In 1849, a few years before his death in 1852, Mantell realised that the genus today known as ''Mantellodon'' was not a heavy,
pachyderm-like animal,
as Owen was putting forward, but had slender forelimbs; however, his passing left him unable to participate in the creation of the
Crystal Palace dinosaur sculptures, and so Owen's vision of the dinosaurs became that seen by the public for decades.
[ With ]Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (8 February 1807 – 27 January 1894) was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park in south London. The models, accurately ...
, Owen had nearly two dozen lifesize sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
s of various prehistoric animals built out of concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
sculpted over a steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
framework; two ''Mantellodon'', one standing and one resting on its belly, were included. Before the sculpture of the standing ''Mantellodon'' was completed, a banquet for twenty was held inside it.[Norman, David B. ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs.'' p. 11.]
The discovery of much better specimens of ''Iguanodon bernissartensis'' in later years revealed that the horn was actually a modified thumb. Still encased in rock, the Maidstone skeleton is currently displayed at the Natural History Museum in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The borough of Maidstone commemorated this find by adding an ''Iguanodon'' as a supporter
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up.
Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...
to their coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
in 1949. This specimen has become linked with the name ''I. mantelli'', a species named in 1832 by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer
Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer (3 September 1801 – 2 April 1869), known as Hermann von Meyer, was a German palaeontologist. He was awarded the 1858 Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London.
Life
He was born at Frankfurt am Ma ...
in place of ''I. anglicus'', but it actually comes from a different formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
than the original ''I. mantelli''/''I. anglicus'' material. The Maidstone specimen, also known as Gideon Mantell's "Mantel-piece", and formally labelled NHMUK 3741 was subsequently excluded from ''Iguanodon''.
It was classified as ''cf.'' ''Mantellisaurus'' by McDonald (2012), as cf. ''Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis'' by David Bruce Norman (2012), and made the holotype of a separate genus and species ''Mantellodon carpenteri'' by Gregory S. Paul (2012). The generic name combines Mantell's name with a Greek ''odon'', "tooth", analogous to ''Iguanodon''. The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
honours Kenneth Carpenter for his work on dinosaurs in general and iguandonts in particular. David Norman, in 2013, considered Paul's description of ''Mantellodon'' to be inadequate, identical to that given by Paul of '' Darwinsaurus'' and entirely incorrect, noting that no dentary is preserved in the holotype specimen, and that the preserved forelimb elements "are gracile, carpals are not preserved, the metacarpals are elongate and slender, and a thumb spike is not preserved". Norman considered the holotype specimen of ''Mantellodon carpenteri'' to be referable to the species ''Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis''.
In 2021, a sculpture nicknamed Iggy the ''Iguanodon'' based on the Maidstone specimen was unveiled at the Maidstone East station. The dinosaur is also featured in Maidstone's coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
, and is the only dinosaur featured in a borough's coat of arms in the UK.
Specimen IRSNB 1551 and "''Dollodon''"
Specimen IRSNB 1551 from the Sainte-Barbe Clays, Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, became the second mounted skeleton of a non-avian dinosaur made primarily out of actual bone when put on display by Louis Dollo in 1884. This specimen was originally assigned to '' Iguanodon mantelli'' by George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...
in 1881, but was in 1986 thought to pertain to ''Iguanodon atherfieldensis'' by David Bruce Norman. The specimen was assigned to its own genus and species, ''Dollodon bampingi'', by Gregory S. Paul in 2008. The genus was named after Dollo, who first described the remains, and the specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
was in honour of popular science writer Daniel Bamping, who assisted Paul in his investigations.
Paul noted several differences between the ''Mantellisaurus'' type (NHMUK R5764) and IRSNB 1551. The ''Mantellisaurus'' type had proportionally shorter forelimbs with a larger pelvis and he argued it was probably more bipedal, whereas IRSNB 1551 was more likely to be quadrupedal. Paul also noted that the snout
A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...
and trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Computing
* Trunk (software), in rev ...
of IRSNB 1551 were proportionally longer than the ''Mantellisaurus'' type specimen.[
The validity of ''Dollodon'' has since been disputed. In 2010, Kenneth Carpenter and Yusuke Ishida synonymized ''Dollodon bampingi'' with '' Iguanodon seelyi'', a species based on BMNH R 28685 from Wessex Formation, ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Likewise, David B. Norman and Andrew McDonald do not consider ''Dollodon'' a valid genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
or species and instead include it with ''Mantellisaurus''.
Sauerland specimens
In 1971, a fossiliferous karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
ic sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
clay deposit was found at a quarry just south-west of the village of Nehden near Brilon in Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...
, Germany containing numerous disarticulated iguanodontid remains predominantly of ''Mantellisaurus'' with lesser quantities of '' Iguanodon'', alongside other fragmentary dinosaur and crocodylian material.
Iberian specimens
''Mantellisaurus'' is known from several localities in Spain. With an articulated hindlimb known from Las Hoyas A specimen is known from the Rubielos de Mora 1 locality in Spain. Three specimens are known from the Arcillas de Morella Formation
The Arcillas de Morella Formation is a geological formation in Spain whose strata date back to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et a ...
.
Description
''Mantellisaurus'' was a lightly constructed iguanodont. Compared to ''Iguanodon bernissartensis'', ''Mantellisaurus '' was smaller, estimated at in weight. Its forelimbs were proportionally shorter than those of ''I. bernissartensis''. In ''Mantellisaurus '' the forelimbs were about half the length of the hindlimbs whereas they were about 70 percent the length of the hindlimbs in ''I. bernissartensis''. Due to the short length of its forelimbs and the shortness of its body, Paul proposed that it was primarily bipedal, only going on all fours when standing still or moving slowly.
Classification
The cladogram below follows an analysis by Andrew McDonald, 2012.
References
Literature
* Cornuel, M., 1850, Note sur des ossements fossiles decouvertes dans le calcaire neocomien de Wassy (Haute-Marne): Bulletin de la societie geologiques de France, 2nd series, v. 7, p. 702-704.
* Hooley, W., 1925, On the skeleton of Iguanodon atherfieldensis sp. nov., from the Wealden Shales of Atherfield (Isle of Wight): Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 81, p. 1-61.
* Hulke, J. W., 1879, Vectisaurus valdensis, a new Wealden Dinosaur: Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 35, p. 421-424.
* Owen, R., 1842, Report on British Fossil Reptiles. Part II: Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, v. 11, p. 60-204.
* Lydekker, R., 1888, Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, S.W., Part 1. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamta, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria: British Museum of Natural History, London, 309pp.
* Norman, D.B., 2012. "Iguanodontian Taxa (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous of England and Belgium". In: Pascal Godefroit (ed.), Bernissart Dinosaurs and Early Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. Indiana University Press. 464 pp. http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=800408
* Paul, G.S. 2007. Turning the old into the new: a separate genus for the gracile iguanodont from the Wealden of England; pp. 69–77 in K. Carpenter (ed.), ''Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs''. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
{{Portal bar, Paleontology, Dinosaurs, Cretaceous
Iguanodonts
Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe
Cretaceous Spain
Fossils of Spain
La Huérguina Formation
Fossil taxa described in 2007
Ornithischian genera
Taxa named by Gregory S. Paul