Britain was dinosaur heaven 140m years ago
BRITAIN was one of the world's original Jurassic Parks, according to the first attempted "census" of the country's dinosaurs. Researchers have identified 108 species found since the first discovery was named in 1824 and believe that the variety of creatures make Britain an important area for dinosaur remains.
The high concentration of species may have been the result of Britain's position as a land bridge during the Cretaceous period 140m years ago. Dinosaurs spread along it between the land masses which are now Europe and North America.
"We're probably in the top five places in the world for concentrations of dinosaurs," said Darren Naish, a vertebrate palaeontologist at Portsmouth University and one of the researchers who carried out the study.
"We've got large numbers of Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous period species, including long-necked dinosaurs and predators such as spinosaurs and velociraptors."
The review, which has taken three years and