FOSSILISED bones discovered on a rocky seashore on England's Isle of Wight are the remains of a meat-eating dinosaur that may be larger than any other known from Europe, a beast that was a cousin of the biggest carnivorous dinosaur species on record.
Paleontologists said on Thursday they have found parts of the skeleton of the dinosaur, which lived about 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, including bones of the back, hips and tail, some limb fragments but no skull or teeth. Based on the partial remains, they estimated that the dinosaur exceeded 33 feet (10 meters) long and perhaps reached much more.
"The size of the specimen is impressive. It is one of the biggest - and possibly the biggest - known land predator ever to stalk Europe," said Chris Barker, a University of Southampton doctoral student in paleontology and lead author of the study published in the journal PeerJ Life & Environment.
Based in part on a series of small grooves on the top of the tail vertebra, they concluded that it belonged to a group of dinosaurs called spinosaurs that included Spinosaurus, which lived about 95 million years ago and at about 50 feet (15 meters) long is considered the longest-known dinosaur predator.
Spinosaurs had elongated skulls reminiscent of crocodiles with lots of conical teeth - perfect for grasping slippery prey - as well as strong arms and big claws. They fed upon aquatic prey as well as other dinosaurs.
Because of the incomplete nature of the remains, the researchers have not yet given the newly described dinosaur a scientific name, but are calling it the "White Rock spinosaurid" based on the geological layer where the bones were found. They believe it is not a member of any previously identified species.
Meat-eating dinosaurs belonged to a clade called theropods, with each continent producing immense examples. They were bipedal and the largest had massive skulls and strong teeth.
Spinosaurus was Africa's largest. Tyrannosaurus rex, approaching 42 feet (13 meters), was North America's king, while the similarly sized Giganotosaurus reigned in South America and the slightly smaller Tarbosaurus in Asia. The largest-known named theropod from Europe was Torvosaurus, at about 33 feet (10 meters). Read full story
The newly described dinosaur might turn out to be as long as T. rex, according to University of Southampton paleobiologist and study corresponding author Neil Gostling.
"This one is really big," Gostling said. "Let's hope more fossils turn up. We would love a skull or teeth."
Looking at the teeth could help researchers better understand this dinosaur's position on the spinosaur family tree.
The fossils were spotted on the surface along Compton Bay on the southwestern coast of the Isle of Wight. The dinosaur inhabited a lagoon environment also populated by various plant-eating dinosaurs and flying reptiles called pterosaurs. At the time, sea levels were much higher than today and large parts of Europe were submerged.
The Isle of Wight has become one of Europe's richest locales for dinosaur remains. The same team of researchers last year announced the discovery of two other Isle of Wight Cretaceous spinosaurs, both measuring about 30 feet long (9 meters).
Those finds combined with the latest one buttress their hypothesis that spinosaurs as a group originated and diversified in western Europe before expanding elsewhere.
"This new material corroborates our previous work that highlights Europe as an important region for spinosaur diversification," Barker said.
Reuters
Sun Jun 12 2022
Artist's illustration shows a large meat-eating dinosaur dubbed the "White Rock spinosaurid," whose remains dating from about 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period were unearthed on England's Isle of Wight. - REUTERS
ICC minta henti ancaman ke atas kakitangannya
ICC meminta sebarang tindakan untuk menakut-nakutkan atau mempengaruhi pegawainya dihentikan segera.
Setiausaha Agung PBB desak gencatan senjata dikuatkuasa di Gaza
Kenyataan ini dibuat ketika pusingan baharu rundingan tidak langsung dijadual berlangsung di Kaherah, Mesir.
ICC minta henti ancaman ke atas kakitangannya
ICC mengeluarkan kenyataan meminta tindakan mengancam kakitangannya berkaitan perkembangan perang di Gaza dihentikan segera
Setiausaha Agung PBB desak gencatan senjata dikuatkuasakan di Gaza
Setiausaha Agung PBB, ulangi desakan supaya Israel dan Hamas mencapai perjanjian gencatan senjata di Gaza
164 PAWE aktif di seluruh negara - Nancy
Sebanyak 164 Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas (PAWE) yang aktif di seluruh negara setakat ini, kata Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
Khilaf dalam kalangan ulama adalah 'rahmat' jika dikawal dan dijaga
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menyifatkan bahawa perbezaan pendapat atau khilaf dalam kalangan ulama boleh menjadi satu 'rahmat' dan membawa kebaikan sekiranya ia dikawal dan dijaga dengan baik
PM yakin kerajaan mampu laksana kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memberi jaminan bahawa peningkatan gaji penjawat awam mulai Disember tahun ini mampu dilaksana menerusi kawalan pengurusan kewangan kerajaan
Onn Hafiz harap ramai anak Johor di perantauan pulang sumbang bakti
Pelbagai usaha sedang giat dijalankan pihak kerajaan negeri bagi menarik minat anak jati Johor di perantauan itu.
Rakyat perlu kuasai AI untuk tentukan sendiri nilai moral, budaya dalam teknologi itu - PM
Jika AI tidak dikuasai, nilai dan moral dalam teknologi itu akan ditentukan oleh pihak-pihak yang menguasainya terutama dari barat.
Piala Thomas: Taiwan lakar kejutan singkir Denmark untuk mara ke separuh akhir
Kejayaan sensasi itu menyaksikan Taiwan berdepan Indonesia dan Malaysia menentang China di pentas separuh akhir pada jam 5 petang hari ini.