Yaverlandia

Yaverlandia is an extinct genus of possible dinosaur known from two partial fossil skulls found in Lower Cretaceous strata of the Wessex Formation in the Isle of Wight, England. When the first known specimen, MIWG 1530, was first described in 1930 by D. M. S. Watson, similarities were noted with the ornithopod genus Vectisaurus and the theropod genus Troodon. In 1936, it was ultimately assigned to the former. It was recognised as a distinct genus in 1971 by Peter Galton, who re-examined the remains. Galton described a single species, Yaverlandia bitholus, in the genus. He believed that it was the oldest member of the family Pachycephalosauridae. Subsequent research by Darren Naish in 2008 instead suggested affinities with maniraptoran theropods. IWCMS. 2012.585, a second specimen described in 2026 by Naish and Steven C. Sweetman, is very similar to the first specimen. These researchers determined that the identity of Yavelandia remains enigmatic; while dinosaur affinities remain possible, some anatomical features are comparable to non-dinosaurian reptiles such as crocodyliforms.