Museum fossil reveals first European megaraptoran dinosaur species

ScienceDaily Fossils reported that a 120-million-year-old fossil left unstudied in a museum collection for nearly a century belongs to a newly identified species of predatory dinosaur. As FTMQ Science reported earlier, researchers identified the species as Invictibellatrix amberina from a fossil braincase that was discovered on the Isle of Wight and housed in the Natural History Museum in London. [1][2]

According to ScienceDaily Fossils, the predator was about the size of a large tiger and possessed enormous curved claws. The study detailing the discovery was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. [1][2]

ScienceDaily Fossils and FTMQ Science both report that the fossil provides the first evidence of megaraptoran dinosaurs in Europe. Megaraptorans are a clade of large, carnivorous theropod dinosaurs characterized by powerful forelimbs and elongated hand claws. [1][2]

ScienceDaily Fossils reported that the discovery helps explain how this group of mysterious predatory dinosaurs expanded their geographical distribution and eventually evolved into gigantic hunters. [1]