Paleontologists recently announced the discovery of two new dinosaur species, with the predatory creatures said to have roamed the south of England about 125 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period.
A USA TODAY report said, both new species, "which can be indicated in the spinosaurid group," are described as three-toed dinosaurs that spanned some 28-feet long and featured crocodile-Esque skulls to hunt down victims in both water and land.
These animals' fossils, which have 50 bones, were excavated on an Isle of Wight beach several years after. In a statement that the University of Southampton issued, Brian Foster, a fossil collector, said that this is the most unusual and most thrilling discovery he has ever made in more than three decades of collecting fossils.
The first sample of the two species is identified as Cerotosuchops inferodios, although its nickname label is quite more attractive, which is "horned crocodile-faced hell heron."
The Nickname
If the species, a similar Cosmos report specified, gets the name from having low bumps and horns close to the brow region, and ties to the hunting style of the animals.
The second species is identified as Riparovenator milnerae, which is translated as "Milner's riverbank hunter." The name is created in honor of the late Angela Milner, a British paleontologist.
Essentially, fossil collectors in England first found pieces belonging to a pair of dinosaur skulls before a group from the Dinosaur Isle Museum found tail bones on the beach.
In a statement which the University of Southampton provided, Jeremy Lockwood, the first collector, said that they realized after the two snouts were discovered that this would be something rare and unusual.
It then became more amazing as many collectors discovered and donated this enormous jigsaw's other parts to the museum.
The biggest dinosaur belonging to the spinosaurid group is identified as "Spinosaurus, which was found in North Africa in 1915 and is also featured in the movie Jurassic Park III.
Related Carnivores in One Ecosystem
In the University of Southampton statement, co-author Dr. David Hone from the Queen Mary University of London said it might sound strange to have two similar and somewhat related carnivores in one ecosystem, although this is, in fact, very typical for both dinosaur species and numerous living ecosystems.
Even though the skeletons are not complete, the study investigators approximate that both Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator gauged roughly nine meters in length, snapping up prey with their meter-long skulls.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, also suggested how spinosaurids might have initially evolved in Europe before dispersing into South America, Africa, and Asia.
According to the University of Southampton's Dr. Neil J. Gostling, who supervised the study, this research has brought together the Dinosaur Isle museum, universities, and the public to unveil such amazing dinosaurs and the south coast of England's exceptionally diverse ecology 125 million years ago.
Early Cretaceous Rocks
The Early Cretaceous rocks on the Isle of Wight describe prehistoric floodplain environs bathed in a climate similar to the Mediterranean.
Whereas balmy in general, forest fires sporadically ravaged the landscape, and the burnt wood's remains can be seen throughout the present time's cliffs.
With a large river and other bodies of water that attract dinosaurs, not to mention housing different fish, crocodiles, and sharks, the habitat offered the newly-found spinosaurids an abundance of hunting opportunities.
Report about the discovery is shown on the University of Southampton's YouTube video below:
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