Describer

Norman 2010

Time

Cretaceous Early Valanginian

Classification

Ornithischia Ornithopoda Iguanodontia Iguanodontidae

Diet

Herbivore

Fossilsite

Wadhurst Formation, East Sussex, England

Info

Skull 3 partial skulls and jaws.

Hypselospinus fittoni (Norman 2010) > Wadhurstia fittoni (Carpenter & Ishida 2010) > Iguanodon fittoni (Lydekker, 1889) >> Iguanodon hollingtoniensis (Lydekker, 1889)

Etymology

Generic name is derived from Greek hypselos, \\\"high\\\" and Latin spina, \\\"thorn\\\", in reference to the high vertebral spines, the specific name honouring William Henry Fitton.

Hypselospinus is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur which was first described as a species of Iguanodon (I. fittoni) by Richard Lydekker in 1889. In May 2010 the fossils comprising Hypselospinus were by David Norman reclassified as a separate genus, among them the holotype BMNH R1635, consisting of a left ilium, a sacrum, tail vertebrae and teeth.

Later that same year, Carpenter & Ishida independently re-classified I. fittoni into a new genus they named Wadhurstia, which thus is a junior objective synonym of Hypselospinus. Hypselospinus was a lightly built iguanodontian estimated at 6 metres (19.7 ft) long. Hypselospinus is separated from Barilium dawsoni on the basis of vertebral and pelvic characters, size, and was more robust build than Hypselospinus, with large Camptosaurus-like vertebrae featuring short neural spines, whereas Hypselospinus is known for its \\\"long, narrow, and steeply inclined neural spines\\\".