Pterosaurs of the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England: a review with new data

2010/01/01 by Steven C. Sweetman, David M. Martill · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Cretaceous #Wight #Paleontology #Assemblage (archaeology) #Taxon #Geology #Mesozoic #Geography #Archaeology #Structural basin

paper · pdf · doi:10.5209/rev_jige.2010.v36.n2.9

openalex publication_date 2010/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27

Abstract

Micropalaeontological processing of vertebrate-bearing horizons within the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England, reveals a rare, but diverse assemblage of pterosaurs. Besides the previously known euornithocheiran Caulkicephalus, the new material demonstrates the presence of three species of istiodactylid, a ctenochasmatid, and a distinct form that cannot easily be placed in a higher taxon. This elevated diversity is in keeping with pterosaur diversity from other Early Cretaceous localities, having some similarities with assemblages from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, China and Spain. The apparent absence of toothless forms in the Wessex Formation may represent a preservation bias or collecting artefact.

Citations

• A new pterosaur (Ctenochasmatidae, Archaeopterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China
• On the Skeleton of Ornithodesmus latidens ; an Ornithosaur from the Wealden Shales of Atherfield (Isle of Wight)
• The palaeoecology of the dinosaurs of the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Early Cretaceous), Isle of Wight, Southern England
• On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs
• Purbeck–Wealden (early Cretaceous) climates
• Giant pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, UK

Cited by

• Istiodactylus [wikipedia]