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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Vishwam Sankaran

New dinosaur species identified from skull found on Isle of Wight

  • Palaeontologists have identified a new tiger-sized dinosaur species, Invictibellatrix amberina , from a fossil skull kept at the Natural History Museum for nearly 100 years.
  • The fossil, originally found on the Isle of Wight in 1924, provides the first evidence of a megaraptoran — an agile relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex — in Europe.
  • Measuring up to four metres long with large curved claws, researchers say that the creature would have been more dangerous to humans than a T-rex if they had lived at the same time, as humans would have been ideal prey size.
  • CT scans of the fossil revealed unique skull features, confirming it as a distinct, previously undiscovered species.
  • The study, published in Royal Society Open Science , highlights how megaraptors migrated globally from Asia through Europe to southern landmasses before going extinct in the north.

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