For the first time in 142 years, a new species of armoured-body dinosaur has been discovered on the Isle of Wight.

Belonging to a group of plant-eating dinosaurs known as ankylosaurs, its remains were found in the 'Wessex Formation', on the Island's southwest coastline.

The new species has been named vectipelta barretti – after Professor Paul Barrett, who has worked at the Natural History Museum in London for 20 years.

It is the second armoured dinosaur to be found on the Island, with the first being polacanthus foxii – which was unearthed in 1865.

Parts of the dinosaur have gone on display at Dinosaur Isle today (Friday). 

Stuart Pond, a researcher at Natural History Museum’s Department of Earth Sciences, said: “For virtually 142 years, all ankylosaur remains from the Isle of Wight have been assigned to polacanthus foxii, a famous dinosaur from the Island, now all of those finds need to be revisited because we’ve described this new species.”

Vectipelta barretti differs from its predecessor, polacanthus foxii, in its neck and back bones.

The analysis also shows both species have different pelvic structures, and vectipelta barretti had more blade-like spiked armour.

Dr Martin Munt, Dinosaur Isle curator, said: "At the time the Isle of Wight would have had a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean and was a flood plain covered by a large meandering river system.

"Floods would have washed organic material such as plants, logs and even dinosaur bodies together and, as waters receded, this organic matter would have been isolated in ponds on the floodplain that eventually dried out and were buried in the clay soil, preserving this organic material as the fossils we find today."

The researchers said rocks from the Wessex Formation and the Isle of Wight are “hugely important” in understanding more about how dinosaurs went extinct.