Paludohadros

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Paludohadros Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	†Ornithischia
Clade:	†Ornithopoda
Superfamily:	†Hadrosauroidea
Genus:	†Paludohadros Sacamoto et al., 2026
Species:	†P. proudlovii
Binomial name
†Paludohadros proudlovii Sacamoto et al., 2026

Paludohadros is an extinct genus of hadrosauroid ornithopod dinosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Weald Clay Formation of the United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, Paludohadros proudlovii, known from a partial skull and skeleton. It is the only taxonomically determinate iguanodontian from the formation.

Discovery and naming

The holotype of Paludohadros was discovered in July 2001 by Geoff Toye in the Smokejack Clay Pit, which exposes outcrops of the Weald Clay Formation near the village of Ockley in Surrey, UK. The specimen was found only 100 meters west of the type locality of Baryonyx. Toye later donated the specimen to the Natural History Museum in London (NHMUK), where it is now permanently accessioned as specimen NHMUK PV R 16396. It consists of a partial skull and skeleton.

In 2026, Ricardo J. Sacamoto and colleagues described Paludohadros proudlovii as a new genus and species of hadrosauroid dinosaur based on these fossil remains, designating NHMUK PV R 16396 as the holotype specimen. The generic name, Paludohadros, combines the Latin word palus, meaning 'swamp', with the Greek hadros, a suffix often used in iguanodontian names meaning 'robust' or 'snout'. This references the swampy environment this taxon would have inhabited during the Cretaceous, as well as the current muddy conditions of the type locality. The specific name, proudlovii, honors William Proudlove, who died shortly before the excavation of the holotype.

References