🦖 A new dinosaur species, Invictibellatrix amberina, has been identified from a fossil collected on the Isle of Wight. This agile, two-legged carnivore, the size of a large tiger, is the first of its kind (megaraptoran) discovered in Europe, dating back to about 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.

🦴 The Invictibellatrix fossil, a piece of a skull, was acquired by the Natural History Museum in 1924 but remained unstudied until now. Researchers estimate it was three to four meters long, about 1.5 meters tall, and potentially feathered, with claws measuring 10-20cm. It preyed on smaller animals and would have been a significant threat to humans.

🌍 This discovery provides the first evidence that megaraptorans were present in Europe, supporting theories that they migrated from Asia and then spread to the southern landmass of Gondwana, rather than island-hopping.

🔬 The identification involved CT scanning the fossil to create a 3D model of the skull and braincase, comparing its unique features to those of other theropod dinosaurs.

#DinosaurDiscovery #Paleontology #IsleOfWight