Hastings Museum & Art Gallery finds spinosaur tooth in their collections

In September 2022, during a routine collections audit, a British spinosaur tooth was discovered at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. Analysis of this tooth by palaeontologists at the EvoPalaeoLab of the University of Southampton has revealed that several distinct spinosaur groups inhabited Cretaceous Britain.  

This tooth was collected from the Lower Cretaceous rocks of the Wealden Supergroup, a thick, complicated rock sequence deposited across South East England between 125 and 140 million years ago. The precise origin of the tooth, although uncertain, is likely to have come from the Grinstead Clay Formation or the Upper Tunbridge Wells Sands of the Hastings Group.

Spinosaur teeth are common throughout the Wealden and have often been identified as belonging to Baryonyx. However, some experts have long suspected that this is incorrect, and this has been confirmed by this new study which reveals that multiple different spinosaur species likely roamed Cretaceous Britain.

Chris Barker, University of Southampton PhD student and author of the project, explained:

"We used a variety of techniques to identify this specimen, in order to test whether isolated spinosaur teeth could be referred to as Baryonyx. The tooth did not group with Baryonyx in any of our data runs. Therefore, it must belong to a different type of spinosaur".

The results show that distinct and distantly related spinosaur types lived in the region during Early Cretaceous times. This backs up research by the EvoPalaeoLab team, who have argued in previous studies that the spinosaurs of southern England are more diverse than previously thought.

Cllr Andy Batsford, lead councillor for Health and Culture at Hastings Borough Council, said:

"We live in an area, that often reveals evidence of the dinosaurs that once roamed, with the museum's collections full of different fossils. However, this tooth must be the most significant find to date. Well done to Philip Hadland, the museum's Curator, who discovered this tooth and contacted the EvoPalaeoLab team at the University of Southampton. This has enabled them to fully investigate this find and gather evidence that supports their belief that the spinosaurs of southern England are more varied than it was first believed.

"It's exciting that our small museum has been involved in such a significant historic discovery. We are looking forward to sharing this find with visitors, when it goes on display at the museum from Tuesday 13 June."

Philip Hadland, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery's Curator, explained:

"I came across the tooth in September 2022 during routine collections audit work and knew it was a spinosaur tooth of potential significance. I also knew the EvoPalaeoLab team at the University of Southampton would be interested in it, since they had enquired previously about dinosaur teeth we might have at the museum.

"This collaboration shows both the potential for new discoveries to be made in local authority museum collections and the benefits of having specialist curators looking after them."

Neil Gostling, Lecturer in Evolution and Palaeobiology at the University of Southampton and Project Supervisor, added:

"Museums themselves are places to make exciting discoveries as our understanding of specimens changes from the time they were deposited.  What this work highlights is the importance of keeping collections alive and developing our understanding of them.  Curators are essential to help us navigate the cupboards and displays, helping us to unpick the often-incomplete records- either never fully recorded, or lost to time. The diversity of palaeoenvironments is not always hidden in rocks, it is often waiting in a museum, its importance waiting to be rediscovered!"

Darren Naish, palaeozoology researcher and co-author of this project, explained:

"Dinosaur teeth preserve numerous anatomical details, and we can use various analytical techniques to see how similar, or different, they are to other teeth. Our new study shows that previously unrecognised spinosaur species exist in poorly known sections of the Wealden's history, and we hope that better remains will be discovered that improves our knowledge. Here's another reminder that even well-studied places like southern England have the potential to yield new dinosaur species."