Vectidromeus (meaning "Isle of Wight runner") is an extinct genus of hypsilophodontid ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of England. The genus contains a single species, V. insularis, known from a partial skeleton belonging to a juvenile individual.
Discovery and naming
The Vectidromeus holotype specimen, IWCMS 2023.102, was discovered in sediments of the Wessex Formation near Sudmoor Point on the Isle of Wight, England. It consists of an incomplete skeleton presumably belonging to a juvenile individual, including partial dorsal and caudal vertebrae, both ilia, the left pubis, both ischia, an incomplete right femur and tibia, a left femur, tibia and fibula, and a partial left pes. Although the specimen is a juvenile, it differs from juveniles of Hypsilophodon and comes from much lower in the Wessex Formation, suggesting it represents a distinct species.
In 2023, Longrich et al. described Vectidromeus insularis as a new genus and species of hypsilophodontid ornithopod based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "Vectidromeus", combines "Vectis", the Roman name for the Isle of Wight, with the Greek word δρομεύς, "dromeus", meaning "runner". The specific name, "insularis", is a Latin word meaning "insular".