William Fox (palaeontologist)
Encyclopedia
William D. Fox was an English clergyman and palaeontologist
who worked on the Isle of Wight
and made some significant discoveries of dinosaur fossils.
The Reverend William D. Fox was born in Cumberland
. He moved to the Isle of Wight in 1862 to take up the post of curate at the Parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Brixton (now known as Brighstone
). He resigned his post in 1867 but continued to live in the area to carry on his collecting. In 1875 he became curate of nearby Kingston, near Shorwell
.
Although lacking formal scientific training Fox was remarkably astute and discussed his findings with eminent palaeontologists of the day including John Hulke
(1830-1895) and Richard Owen
. Fox had easy access to Brighstone Bay from his home, Myrtle Cottage in Brighstone, and so spent many an hour collecting fossils, much to the detriment of his pastoral work; in fact, it was said of him at the time, by the wife of the vicar, that it was "always bones first and the parish next". He is also quoted as having written in a letter to Sir Richard Owen "I cannot leave this place while I have any money left to live on, I take such deep [sic] in hunting for old dragons".
In 1882 Fox's collection of more than 500 specimens was acquired by the Natural History Museum
after his death.
Fox is credited with the finding of several species, most described by his friend Owen and named by him after their finder. These include Polacanthus
foxii, Hypsilophodon
foxii, Eucamerotus
foxi, Iguanodon
foxii, Calamosaurus
foxii (formerly Calamospondylus) and Aristosuchus
.
(23 April 1805 - 8 April 1880) who was also an amateur scientist and lived and worked on the Isle of Wight at the same time. William Darwin Fox is sometimes ascribed the credit for early dinosaur discoveries. However William Darwin Fox was noted for his geological work, and entomology, but is not recorded as having any particular interest in dinosaurs.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
who worked on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and made some significant discoveries of dinosaur fossils.
The Reverend William D. Fox was born in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
. He moved to the Isle of Wight in 1862 to take up the post of curate at the Parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Brixton (now known as Brighstone
Brighstone
Brighstone is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, 6 miles southwest of Newport on the B3399 road. Brighstone was previously known as "Brixton"...
). He resigned his post in 1867 but continued to live in the area to carry on his collecting. In 1875 he became curate of nearby Kingston, near Shorwell
Shorwell
Shorwell is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. It is located six kilometres from Newport in the southwest of the island. Shorwell was one of Queen Victoria's favourite places to visit on the Isle of Wight.-History:...
.
Although lacking formal scientific training Fox was remarkably astute and discussed his findings with eminent palaeontologists of the day including John Hulke
John Hulke
John Whitaker Hulke FRCS FRS FGS was a British surgeon, geologist and fossil collector. He was the son of a physician in Deal, who became a Huxleyite despite being deeply religious....
(1830-1895) and Richard Owen
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
. Fox had easy access to Brighstone Bay from his home, Myrtle Cottage in Brighstone, and so spent many an hour collecting fossils, much to the detriment of his pastoral work; in fact, it was said of him at the time, by the wife of the vicar, that it was "always bones first and the parish next". He is also quoted as having written in a letter to Sir Richard Owen "I cannot leave this place while I have any money left to live on, I take such deep [sic] in hunting for old dragons".
In 1882 Fox's collection of more than 500 specimens was acquired by the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
after his death.
Fox is credited with the finding of several species, most described by his friend Owen and named by him after their finder. These include Polacanthus
Polacanthus
Polacanthus, deriving its name from the Ancient Greek poly-/πολυ- "many" and acantha/ακανθα "thorn" or "prickle", was an early armored, spiked, plant-eating ankylosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Early depictions often gave it a very vague head as it was only known from the rear half of the...
foxii, Hypsilophodon
Hypsilophodon
Hypsilophodon is an ornithopod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of Europe. It was a small bipedal animal with an herbivorous or possibly omnivorous diet...
foxii, Eucamerotus
Eucamerotus
Eucamerotus was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England. It is known from vertebral remains, and a partial skeleton has been referred, although this has not been accepted...
foxi, Iguanodon
Iguanodon
Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
foxii, Calamosaurus
Calamosaurus
Calamosaurus was a genus of small theropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, England...
foxii (formerly Calamospondylus) and Aristosuchus
Aristosuchus
Aristosuchus was a small coelurosaurian dinosaur, whose name was derived from the Greek ἄριστος and σουχος, the Ancient Greek corruption of the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek. It shared many characteristics with birds.Aristosuchus was a bipedal, meat-eating theropod dinosaur...
.
Confusion with William Darwin Fox
There is considerable confusion between Fox and his more celebrated contemporary the synonymic Rev. William Darwin FoxWilliam Darwin Fox
The Reverend William Darwin Fox was an English clergyman, naturalist, and a 2nd cousin of Charles Robert Darwin.- Early life :...
(23 April 1805 - 8 April 1880) who was also an amateur scientist and lived and worked on the Isle of Wight at the same time. William Darwin Fox is sometimes ascribed the credit for early dinosaur discoveries. However William Darwin Fox was noted for his geological work, and entomology, but is not recorded as having any particular interest in dinosaurs.