From Stegosauruses on Skye to Iguanodons on the Isle of Wight – where UK dinosaurs roamed
A DINOSAUR footprint discovered on the Yorkshire coast has been described as a "real Jurassic giant."
Scientists say the discovery, the largest ever in the northern county, could have been left behind by a 30ft meat-eater, possibly a megalosaurus.
Archaeologist Marie Woods, who made the discovery, said: "I had originally gone to collect shellfish for dinner, but got completely distracted by this beast!"
Dinosaurs, despite living millions of years ago, have been in the news a lot recently. In January, a four-year-old girl found a prehistoric footprint in south Wales.
We've also seen Brit actress Kate Winslet bring to life the fascinating story of famed fossil hunter, Mary Anning, in the movie Ammonite.
The UK had the seventh biggest dino population in the world. The USA, home of the terrifying T-Rex, had the most, followed by Canada.
"These footprints are the first evidence we have that this very major, very iconic group of dinosaurs lived in Scotland."
Stegosaurs have also been found in Gloucestershire, in the in the idyllic, celeb favourite of the Cotswolds.
Cetiosaurus
Cetiosaurus is part of the sauropod group of dinosaurs, distinguishable by their long neck and tail.
These herbivores also favoured the Cotswolds and lived between 167.70 and 164.70 million years ago. Cetiosaurus was the first and most complete sauropod discovered in England.
It's name means "whale lizard" because palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen mistakenly assumed it must be a marine creature.
Iguanodon
These were herbivores who lived in the Early Cretaceous (145 million years ago) and could grow to 10 metres long, weighing four-and-a-half tons.
In 1834, during the excavation of a quarry in Maidstone, Kent, an iguanodon fossil bone was discovered. The quarry owner then found more of the skeleton, including rib fragments, vertebrae, limb bones and part of a tooth, making it the best specimen of the beast discovered at the time.
Famous paleontologist Gideon Mantell bought the skeleton from the quarry owner for £25 and gifted it to the Natural History Museum where it remains. Maidstone is so proud of its dinosaur history that it has an iguanodon in its crest.
Last year, an iguanodon tail was discovered on the Isle of Wight, once named by the Natural History Museum as the UK's dinosaur capital. The Royal Mint commemorated this ancient resident in 2020 by issuing a 50p featuring an Iguanodon.
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaur isn’t technically a dinosaur but you still wouldn’t want to meet one while swimming around in the British seaside as scientists agree it was one of the largest animals ever. It lived during the Late Triassic period.
Famed fossil hunter Mary Anning, whose life is celebrated in the new movie Ammonite starring Kate Winslet, was the first to discover ichthyosaur skeleton, in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
Recently, a jaw bone was discovered in Somerset in 2016 by fossil collector Paul de la Salle, while a in the same county in January, 2020.
A 205 million-year-old jaw bone, thought to be of a giant ichthyosaur, was also found at Lilstock, Somerset, in 2018.
It was found to be a plesiosaur, a reptile with large flippers which, although not a dinosaur, ruled the oceans for a hundred million years and died out at the same time as dinosaurs.
Thecodontosaurus
Another herbivore, this sauropod roamed in the Late Triassic - 200 million years ago - and despite preferring a hotter climate, has been found in Bristol.
Dracoraptor hanigani
This dinosaur species was only discovered in 2014 when brothers Nick and Rob Hanigan found an unusual fossil at Lavernock Point, south Wales.
The remains, found at the foot of a cliff, were thought to come from the earliest known dinosaur of the Jurassic Period, making it the first Jurassic dinosaur fossil to be found in Wales.
The fossil was donated to the National Museum of Wales.
A 220 million-year-old footprint was discovered in Barry, south Wales, January by four-year-old Lily Wilder.
Experts haven't identified which dinosaur left it but Cindy Howells, Palaeontology Curator for the National Museum Wales, described it as "the best specimen ever found on this beach."
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She told: “It’s one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the UK and will really aid palaeontologists to get a better idea about how these early dinosaurs walked,” she said.
Lily's mum Sally said of the 10cm long print: "We weren’t even sure it was real." It has been given to the National Museum Wales.