Tracking Dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight: a review of tracks, sites, and current research

The Wealden exposures on the Isle of Wight have long been noted for their dinosaur footprints and trackways and represent a unique ichnological resource. However, with a few notable exceptions, these ichnites remain largely unstudied and documentation has been sporadic and often concentrated on a few particular sites. Thus, their context within the Lower Cretaceous is poorly understood. The vertebrate ichnological record of the Wessex Sub-basin is currently being re-assessed. We review the main sites containing dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Wight. We also look at previously-known sites, and present new research using techniques such as photogrammetry to accurately record, preserve, and distribute ichnological data, especially data recorded in the dynamic foreshore and cliff environments, where many trace fossils are frequently lost as a result of human activity, weathering, erosion, and changing marine dynamics. Although the ichnoassemblages of the island's Wealden facies are dominated by ornithopod tracks including Caririchnium and Amblydactylus, we also report the first occurrence of the ankylosaurian track Tetrapodosaurus in both the Wessex and Vectis Formations, alongside the previously reported stegosaurian Deltapodus, as well as the occurrence of tracks left by saurichian tracemakers.(c) 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 737-757.