Century-old fossil reveals a new long-clawed dinosaur from Europe

The new species

Invictibellatrix amberina

University College London scientists named the species from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight in 1924, which lay almost 100 years in a Natural History Museum drawer.

When it lived

120 million years ago

It lived about 120 million years ago, in the early Cretaceous, measured three to four metres long and attacked with curved claws of 10 to 20 centimetres.

They definitely would have chased us. A T. rex would not have bothered, as we would have been too small.

— Cassius Morrison, lead study author

Why it matters

It is the first megaraptoran found in Europe, evidence the group spread from Asia through Europe to the southern continents rather than island-hopping, the study says.

Tech · 19 d ago

Century-old fossil reveals a new long-clawed dinosaur from Europe

University College London scientists named the species from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight in 1924, which lay almost 100 years in a Natural History Museum drawer.

It lived about 120 million years ago, in the early Cretaceous, measured three to four metres long and attacked with curved claws of 10 to 20 centimetres.

They definitely would have chased us. A T. rex would not have bothered, as we would have been too small.

It is the first megaraptoran found in Europe, evidence the group spread from Asia through Europe to the southern continents rather than island-hopping, the study says.

Century-old fossil reveals a new long-clawed dinosaur from Europe

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