New dinosaur species found on Isle of Wight after fossil 'overlooked' for over a century
The new species of dinosaur would’ve roamed the UK 120 million years ago
A new species of dinosaur has been discovered on the Isle of Wight after a fossil found on the island was “overlooked” for more than a century.
The dinosaur, a long-clawed predator the size of a large tiger is the first of a group of two-legged carnivores called megaraptorans to be found in Europe, according to the research team led by University College London.
Megaraptors are thought to have originated in Asia before migrating through Europe.
This new species of megaraptorans, which were closely related to tyrannosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex, lived in the UK in the early cretaceous period around 120 million years ago.
It has been named Invictibellatrix amberina, with the former meaning “unconquered female warrior”.
The fossil, a skull fragment, was found at the foot of a cliff on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight by amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley.
It was acquired by the Natural History Museum in 1924, but was not properly studied at the time.
Many dinosaur fossils are found on the Isle of Wight; in 2013, the most complete dinosaur specimen to be found in the UK for a century was discovered in the cliffs of Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight in 2013 by fossil collector Nick Chase and was discovered to be an entirely new species by a research team at the University of Portsmouth.
Dr Cassius Morrison, who wrote a report on the Invictibellatrix amberina findings in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said: “It is a real mystery that this fossil was overlooked for so long, sitting in a drawer for nearly 100 years.
“It was not the apex predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than a T rex.
“We would have been perfectly sized prey, about a third of their body weight. They definitely would have chased us.
“A T rex would not have bothered, as we would have been too small.
“Lots of bones are found on the Isle of Wight – who knows what else is waiting to be discovered.”
He said Invictibellatrix would have been three to four-metres long, just over a metre and a half in height, with feathers and claws between 10 and 20cm long.
It would have eaten small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals.