Crocodile-faced Dinosaur May Have Been Europe's Largest Ever Predator
Crocodile-faced dinosaur may have been Europe's largest ever predator:
An enormous crocodile-faced, spiny-backed dinosaur that prowled what is now England roughly 125 million years ago was one of the largest predatory animals to ever stalk across Europe.
Paleontologists unearthed the remains of this behemoth on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. The researchers nicknamed the newfound species the "White Rock spinosaurid," after the chalky geological layer found on the island where it was discovered. As the scientists unearthed only pieces of fossils, the animal has yet to be given an official scientific name.
The fragments are the youngest spinosaurid fossils ever found in the U.K., according to a new study, published June 9 in the journal PeerJ Life and Environment. Spinosaurids were bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs with crocodile-like skulls, slender necks and sturdy arms, and they lived during the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). The new species is a close relative of the older, potentially amphibious Spinosaurus, which was bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex and had a large, flattened sail extending from its back.
Spinosaurids are somewhat mysterious as few fossils of the group have been discovered. Scientists suspect that the creatures hunted in lakes, rivers and lagoons, but how they captured their quarry is a subject of debate. Some paleontologists have proposed that spinosaurids actively swam after their prey (opens in new tab), propelling themselves by swishing their large tails as modern crocodiles do. Other experts suggest the monsters behaved more like herons, wading the lagoons and jabbing their long jaws into the water to snatch up fish. Either way, the creatures were enormous, and the newly discovered White Rock spinosaurid was among the biggest.
''This was a huge animal, exceeding 10m [33 feet] in length, and judging from some of the dimensions, [it] probably represents the largest predatory dinosaur ever found in Europe,'' study lead author Chris Barker, a paleontologist at the University of Southampton in England, said in a statement. ''It's just a shame it's only known from such scant material.''
Europe's Largest Predatory Dinosaur Unearthed on the Isle of Wight
Europe's Largest Predatory Dinosaur Unearthed on the Isle of Wight:
[...] The bones of the 'White Rock spinosaurid', which include huge pelvic and tail vertebrae, amongst other pieces, were discovered near Compton Chine, on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight. The Cretaceous rocks are famous for their dinosaurs, but little appreciated is the fact that the Island's fossil record preserves dinosaurs from more than one section of history – and some of those sections, even today, are poorly known.
"Unusually, this specimen eroded out of the Vectis Formation, which is notoriously poor in dinosaur fossils," said corresponding author Dr. Neil Gostling, who teaches evolution and palaeobiology at the University of Southampton. "It's likely to be the youngest spinosaur material yet known from the UK."
The 125 million-year-old Vectis Formation preserves the beginning of a period of rising sea levels, where the 'White Rock spinosaurid' stalked lagoonal waters and sandflats in search of food.
"Because it's only known from fragments at the moment, we haven't given it a formal scientific name," said co-author Darren Naish. He added: "We hope that additional remains will turn up in time.
"This new animal bolsters our previous argument – published last year – that spinosaurid dinosaurs originated and diversified in western Europe before becoming more widespread."
Journal Reference:
Chris T. Barker, Jeremy A.F. Lockwood, Darren Naish, et al. A European giant: a large spinosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Vectis Formation (Wealden Group, Early Cretaceous), UK, PeerJ (DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13543)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @03:38PM (2 children)
but when I read the headline, I instantly thought Europe's Foreign Policy.
Certainly there are analogies here.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Nuke on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:31PM
Done.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:16PM
Oh, sweetie.
If you were going to troll you'd mention that dinosaurs didn't care for geopolitics.
The Isle of Wight might not have even been an island given the timeframes. And with Britain connected to the continent at Doggerland, any Brexit-defying Dino's could just walk across to the mainland.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:02PM (1 child)
Where is the poll for the public to name it? There is boaty precedent in cases such as these.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @10:34PM
Let's try a little word association:
Largest predatory dinosaur.
Lizard King.
Jim Morrison.
The Doors.
Isle of Wight festival 1970.
Just call him Jim.