The two-legged predatory dinosaur with a striking crocodile-like head lived about 125 million years ago and must have been at least ten meters long!

Researchers have stumbled upon the remains of an impressive dinosaur on the British Isle of Wight. It concerns the bones of a carnivorous dinosaur, which belongs to the family Spinosauridae can be shared. But this was no ordinary one. “This is probably the largest predatory dinosaur ever found in Europe,” said study leader Chris Barker.

Discovery

The bones, including large pelvic and tail vertebrae, were discovered near Compton Chine, located on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight. And while dinosaur remains are regularly found on the island – the many fossils indicate that the island was dominated by dinosaurs during the early Cretaceous – the finding of the new Spinosauridae yet special. “What’s unusual is that this specimen was eroded from the Vectis formation,” said researcher Neil Gostling. “It’s probably the youngest Spinosauridae known in the UK so far.”

The discovered fossil remains of the dinosaur and their position. Image: Chris Barker/Dan Folkes

The researchers suspect that the two-legged predatory dinosaur with a distinctive crocodile-like head lived about 125 million years ago. That’s exactly during the period when global sea levels rose. Possibly the dinosaur partly lived in the water where it looked for food.

Greatest land fighter

In addition, analysis shows that it was a predator of impressive proportions. The dinosaur must have been at least ten meters long. “This was a really huge animal,” Barker says. It is not for nothing that the dino has been labeled as one of Europe’s greatest land hunters ever discovered.

Unnamed

At the moment, the dino still goes through life nameless. That’s because very few bones of the imposing animal have actually been found at this time. “Because it is currently known only from fragments, we have not yet given it a formal scientific name,” said study researcher Darren Naish. “We hope that more remains will surface over time.”

Amazing fossils

Nevertheless, some of the dinosaur bones discovered are astonishing. For example, the researchers found a piece of pelvis with large holes in it. “Each one was about the size of my index finger,” said study researcher Jeremy Lockwood. “We believe these were drilled by bone-eating larvae of a scavenger beetle. It’s an interesting idea that after his death this giant dinosaur became a meal for a large number of giant insects.”

Western Europe

The discovery follows previous work by the same researchers. Last year they also encountered two new species Spinosauridae-dinosaurs. “The discovery of this new animal supports our earlier argument,” Naish said. “And that is that we suspect that these dinosaurs originated and diversified in Western Europe, before spreading around the world.”

The researchers plan to thoroughly inspect the bones of the newly discovered dinosaur. In this way, they hope to be able to look at microscopic, internal properties of the bones, which may provide information about the growth rate and age of the animal.