Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
A new species of dinosaur discovered at Building materials producer wienerberger’s Ewhurst brick and roof tile works has been named in honour of former site manager Will Proudlove, more than 25 years after the fossils were excavated.
Its remains were excavated from the Surrey site in 2001, and have since been studied by scientists at the Natural History Museum, who identified it as a previously unknown genus and species.
Named Paludohadros proudlovii, the herbivorous dinosaur lived around 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period in the muddy wetlands of southern England; ‘palus’ meaning ‘swamp’ in Latin.
The full name honours Proudlove, who died aged 35 shortly before the excavation.
His family has welcomed the announcement, describing it as an honour that will ensure his name and legacy live on.
The findings, published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, highlight how wienerberger’s Ewhurst works has contributed to our understanding of prehistoric life, with its clay deposits continuing to provide valuable material for scientific research.
