Pronunciation: bri-STO-nee-us
Meaning: Belonging to Brighstone
Author/s: Lockwood et al. (2021)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Isle of Wight, UK
Discovery Chart Position: #1053
Brighstoneus simmondsi
(Belonging to Brighstone, in honour of Simmonds)Etymology
Brighstoneus is derived from "Brighstone" (a village on the Isle of Wight, close to the excavation site and home to the Reverend William Fox, a celebrated Victorian fossil collector whose discoveries had a major impact on early dinosaurian research) and the Latin "-ius" (belonging to).
The species epithet, simmondsi, honours Mr Keith Simmonds "who discovered the specimen".
Discovery
The remains of Brighstoneus were discovered in a plant debris bed in the Wessex Formation, west of Grange Chine on the south
coast of the Isle of Wight, UK, in 1978, by the Henwood Family (on holiday from Basingstoke). The fossils were mingled with the remains of a theropod called
Neovenator salerii.
The holotype (MIWG 6344) includes a partial skull, 8 back vertebrae, 14 ribs, a block of hip vertebrae, 6 tail vertebrae, a partial pelvis and a right thigh. Some parts of the same individual (including two back vertebrae and other fragments) remain in private ownership. We're guessing that the private owners are the Henwoods, and they weren't officially named as discoverers out of spite.
