A new species of theropod dinosaur, named Invictibellatrix amberina, has been described by a team of researchers from University College London (UCL). The animal is estimated to have been 3 to 4 metres long and about 1.5 metres tall, with claws that could reach up to a couple of decimetres in length. According to UCL researcher Cassius Morrison, the dinosaur would have posed a greater threat to humans than the well‑known Tyrannosaurus rex. “We would have been a prey of perfect size – about a third of their body weight. They definitely hunted us. A T‑rex would not have cared, because we were too small,” Morrison said in a press release. The fossil was first discovered in the southwestern part of the Isle of Wight by an amateur paleontologist. In 1924 it was transferred to the Natural History Museum in London, where it remained stored in a box and largely forgotten until a research team examined it. Using computed tomography, the team produced a three‑dimensional reconstruction of the skull and compared it with other two‑legged carnivorous dinosaurs. The comparisons confirmed that the specimen represented a new species within the megaraptor group – a group of large theropods that had not previously been documented in Europe. Researchers note that Invictibellatrix amberina is among the smallest members of the megaraptorids and one of the earliest known, having lived approximately 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, highlights the potential for further discoveries on the Isle of Wight and in other neglected museum collections. “Despite over 200 years of collecting, the Isle of Wight continues to surprise us with new dinosaur species,” said Professor Paul Barret of the Natural History Museum. “Work of this kind shows the enormous value of studying historical museum collections.”
Article source: Helsingborgs Dagblad | Image credit: Helsingborgs Dagblad