New Dinosaur Species, Invictibellatrix Amberina, Identified from Isle of Wight Fossil
Natural History Museum braincase reveals a megaraptoran predator with large claws, previously overlooked for a century.
Sarah Connor
A new dinosaur species, Invictibellatrix amberina, has been identified from a fossil braincase.
The Natural History Museum acquired the fossil in 1924, following its discovery on the Isle of Wight.
A University College London team led the research, publishing their findings in Royal Society Open Science, which confirmed the identification.
Invictibellatrix amberina belongs to the megaraptoran group, known for their large claws and bipedal stance.
The creature reportedly measured up to four metres long and possessed large curved claws, though other research claims it was about five metres long and stood just over a metre and a half tall.
Its body was potentially covered in filament-like feathers, with fearsome claws reportedly measuring between 10 and 20 centimetres.
This species lived in the UK during the early Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago.
Invictibellatrix likely preyed upon mammals, small reptiles, and juvenile dinosaurs, researchers claim.
It was not the apex predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than a T Rex.
Cassius Morrison stated, "It was not the apex predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than a T Rex."
Morrison added, "A T Rex would not have bothered, as we would have been too small."
Humans would have been "perfectly sized prey, about a third of their body weight," Morrison explained. "They definitely would have chased us."
This fossil was overlooked for study for more than a century, with researchers claiming it sat in a drawer for nearly 100 years.
Cassius Morrison described it as "a real mystery that this fossil was overlooked for so long, sitting in a drawer for nearly 100 years."
Megaraptorans are thought to have originated in Asia before migrating through Europe, Africa, and South America.
"Lots of bones are found on the Isle of Wight – who knows what else is waiting to be discovered," Cassius Morrison remarked.