The key facts

  • A skull fragment from the collection of the Natural History Museum in London has been identified as a new species — Invictibellatrix amberina
  • The first confirmed evidence of a megaraptor in Europe; previously they were found in Asia, Australia and South America
  • Size — 3–4 m in length, about 1.5 m in height; it lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago

A century-old find turned out to be a new species

A fossil kept for almost a century in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London has been identified as a new species of carnivorous dinosaur — Invictibellatrix amberina, which lived about 120 million years ago. The skull fragment is also the first confirmed evidence of a megaraptor's existence in Europe. The study results have been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

History of the find

The fossil was discovered at the foot of a cliff on the southwestern coast of the Isle of Wight by amateur collector Reginald Walter Hooley. After his death in 1924, the Natural History Museum acquired more than a thousand specimens from his collection, including this fragment. Scientists knew the find belonged to a dinosaur, but its exact identity remained a mystery for decades.

CT scanning and 3D model

Researchers re-examined the fossil using CT scanning, which made it possible to examine its internal structure and create a 3D model. The study's senior author, Professor Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum, noted: 'Despite a history of finds spanning more than 200 years, the Isle of Wight continues to surprise us with new dinosaur species, and the remains of predatory dinosaurs such as Invictibellatrix are especially rare.' According to him, the work demonstrates 'the exceptional value of historic museum collections, in which we still have many discoveries to make.'

What is known about megaraptors

Despite the name, megaraptors were not small bird-like dinosaurs but large predators, closer relatives of tyrannosaurs, with a narrow head, large front limbs and huge curved claws, the museum notes. The size of Invictibellatrix amberina is estimated at 3–4 metres in length and about 1.5 metres in height. The dinosaur lived in the Early Cretaceous period. Researchers suggest it may have been covered in feathers, although its exact appearance remains unknown.

Role in the ecosystem

According to the study's lead author, Dr Cassius Morrison of the Department of Earth Sciences at University College London (UCL), the species fed on small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals, occupying a niche in the food chain similar to the role of a hyena today. 'It was not the top predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than T. rex. We would have been prey of the perfect size — about a third of its body mass. It would definitely have chased us. T. rex would not have been interested in us: we would have been too small for it,' Morrison explained. The discovery is especially significant because megaraptors had previously been found in Asia, Australia and South America, but their presence in Europe had not yet been confirmed unambiguously.