A century-old Isle of Wight fossil reveals Europe’s first megaraptoran
A UCL-led team has identified Invictibellatrix amberina, a long-clawed megaraptoran that lived in Britain about 120 million years ago. The Natural History Museum acquired the partial skull in 1924; researchers say it is the first evidence of megaraptorans in Europe and supports a route from Asia through Europe to Gondwana.
Bottom line — The fossil adds a missing European link to megaraptorans’ proposed migration route to Gondwana.
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The Independent reports the fossil was found at the foot of a cliff on the Isle of Wight by amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley.
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UCL researchers estimate the dinosaur was 3–4 metres long and just over 1.5 metres tall, with claws possibly 10–20 centimetres long.
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The BBC says megaraptorans used large arms and curved claws to catch prey; this species likely ate small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals.
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The team used CT scans, skull comparisons and modelling to identify the species and examine megaraptoran distribution, according to Phys.org.
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The researchers suggest megaraptorans later disappeared from northern Laurasia, while those in Gondwana became apex predators; possible causes include environmental change or competition from other predators, the Daily Mirror reports.