Fossil skull reveals new dinosaur species on Isle of Wight

A team led by University College London has identified a new species of predatory dinosaur from a fossil collected on the Isle of Wight, New Scientist and Phys.org both reported. The dinosaur, named Invictibellatrix amberina, lived approximately 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. It is the first megaraptoran, a group of agile, two-legged carnivores, ever found in Europe. [1][2][5]

The discovery rests on a partial braincase, a fossilised section of the skull that protects the brain, according to New Scientist. The fossil was acquired from Reverend Reginald Hooley in 1924 and remained in the archives of the Natural History Museum in London for roughly 100 years before being analysed. Cassius Morrison, a researcher on the project, noted that the fossil had sat unstudied in the museum for a century. [1]

The research was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, Phys.org reported. Phys.org noted that the predator was the size of a large tiger, while New Scientist reported that it was related to Tyrannosaurus rex and may have possessed claws measuring up to 20 centimetres long. The Isle of Wight is recognised as one of the richest dinosaur localities in Europe, with more than 20 recognised species. [1][2][5]

Re-examining archived museum specimens often leads to new classifications decades after their initial collection. As FTMQ Science reported earlier, researchers previously identified an extinct crocodilian species, Herugavialis cairensis, a century after its fossil specimens were first gathered from limestone. [7]