A giant crocodile-faced dinosaur, one to be exact spinosauriddiscovered on the Isle of Wight by one of Britain’s best fossil hunters was probably the biggest predator that ever walked the lands of Europeaccording to what the scientists said on Thursday.
Most of the two-legged spinosaurid bones were found by late local collector Nick Chase, who has dedicated his life to scouring the island’s beaches on England’s south coast for dinosaur remains.
Researchers at the University of Southampton then used the few bones available to identify what they called the “White Rock spinosaurid“They stated in a study published in the PeerJ journal.
“This was a huge animal, exceeding 10 meters (33 feet) in length and, judging by some size, probably represents the largest predatory dinosaur ever found in Europe.”
said the PhD student Chris Barkerwho led the study.
While admitting it would be better to have more bones, Barker told AFP that “the numbers don’t lie: it’s bigger than the largest known specimen”Previously found in Europe.
Thomas Richard Holtza vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the study, agreed that the new discovery “appears to be larger” than a huge predator whose fossil remains have been discovered in Portugal.
Some details on the White Rock spinosaurid
The White Rock spinosaurid – which researchers hope to see formally named as a new species – dates back to the early Cretaceous period, estimated to be around 125 million years old. Barker said this makes it the youngest spinosaurid ever found in Britain, two to three million years younger than the famous Baryonyx.
Spinosaurids are known for their elongated heads, rather than having square skulls like a Tyrannosaurus rex, their faces look more like those of a crocodile and one of the main theories to explain this feature is that they may have hunted both on water and on land.
“They are a bit like storks and herons, wading and tearing fish from the surface”
said Barker, who then added:
“It helps to start painting a picture of what animals lived through time, which is a very little known part of the English paleontological heritage”
The White Rock spinosaurid was discovered in a coastal lagoon environment where few dinosaur fossils are normally found, and the team had already discovered two new species of spinosaurid on the Isle of Wight, including Ceratosuchops inferodios, nicknamed the ‘hell heron’.
“This new animal reinforces our earlier argument – published last year – that spinosaurid dinosaurs originated and diversified in Western Europe before becoming more widespread.”
said the study’s co-author Darren Naish.
Paleontologists paid tribute to Chase, who always donated all the bones he found to museums.
“Most of these incredible fossils were found by Nick Chase, one of Britain’s most skilled dinosaur hunters, who sadly died shortly before the COVID outbreak.”
said the study co-author Jeremy Lockwooda doctoral student at the University of Portsmouth.
Barker said Chase’s “mysterious ability” to find bones showed that “it’s not just professional paleontologists who have an impact on the discipline.”
The discovery “highlights the fact that collectors have an important role to play in modern paleontology and their generosity helps advance science,” he added.
And if there are would-be fossil hunters hoping to pick up where Chase left off, paleontologists said they’d welcome more White Rock spinosaurid bones.
“We hope that a passer-by can collect some fragments and donate them”
Barker said.
The new discovery is the latest in a recent series of important paleontological discoveries in England and Scotland.
In February, scientists announced that a 170-million-year-old pterosaur fossil, described as the world’s best-preserved prehistoric winged reptile skeleton, had been found on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. In January, paleontologists announced the discovery of the fossil remains of a giant Jurassic “sea dragon” in England.
In 2020, scientists from the Isle of Wight discovered a new species of theropod dinosaur, making it a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex. The new dinosaur, called Vectaerovenator inopinatus, is believed to have grown to about 13 feet in length and roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period, about 115 million years ago.
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