The remains of a herbivore dinosaur estimated to have lived around 125 million years ago have been found on the Isle of Wight in England, with scientists believing it is the most complete specimen to have been found in Britain in a century.

This herbivore dinosaur, which weighed as much as a large male American bison, about 900 kilograms, probably lived in a herd, said Jeremy Lockwood, a PhD candidate at the University of Portsmouth who was involved in the excavations.

The dinosaur remains, 149 bones, were found on the rocks of Compton Bay on the island of White, off the southern coast of England, in 2013 by the late fossil collector Nick Chase. However, because almost the entire skeleton was found, it took Lockwood and his colleagues several years to prepare the dinosaur for analysis,

It was named Comptonatus chasei in tribute to Chase.

“Nick had a gift for discovering dinosaur bones (…) it’s a great find,” commented Lockwood.

“It helps us understand more about the different types of dinosaurs that lived in England in the early Cretaceous period,” he explained.

The remains of a carnivorous dinosaur, larger than any other dinosaur found anywhere in Europe, that also lived in the Cretaceous period, were found on the same island in 2022.