Martin I. Simpson

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Martin I. Simpson is a British palaeontologist, not to be confused with Martin Simpson (1800-1892), a geologist best known for his work in the Whitby area. He lives on the Isle of Wight and owns the Black Gang Chine fossil shop. Though perhaps best known for his appearances in the British news media, he is also an established expert on Cretaceous fossil crustaceans and has produced important papers on the Cretaceous Lower Greensand Group. His book is titled Fossil Hunting on Dinosaur Island. Simpson was also heavily involved in the excavation of a significant specimen of the ankylosaur Polacanthus.

Simpson has been quite vocal in his criticism of the Isle of Wight's Dinosaur Isle Visitor Centre and its staff. He has also written about the trade in fossils and on the relationship between academic palaeontologists and amateur dealers and collectors. In the BBC TV series Life from Dinosaur Island Simpson was associated with the discovery of Isle of Wight amber.