Archeologists have recently discovered evidence of what might have been Europe's largest terrestrial hunter-a fossil discovery, particularly on an island off the south coast of England.
A ScienceAlert report specified that scientists suspect the remnants of a gigantic two-legged carnivore, recently excavated on the Isle of Wright, might be the hugest theropod found on the continent to date.
The lone rival is a possible megalosaurid identified from an unpublished explanation of a large vertebra unveiled in the Jurassic geology of France.
Essentially, theropods were a prevalent clade of dinosaurs, including megalosaurs, tyrannosaurs, spinosaurs, and velociraptors.
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Spinosaurus foot bones
A Huge Animal
In the Early Jurassic, these prehistoric creatures were the only large, land-based carnivores, and Spinosauruses was perhaps, "the longest and largest of the lot," the same report said.
In the prehistoric river beds of northern Africa, Spinosaurus fossils can reach epic ratios, specifying a body length of more than 49 feet and a body mass of more than 13 metric tons.
The Isle of Wight fossils is not quite that large, although the authors said they appear to be larger than any other Spinosaurus fossil discovered in southern England or southwest Europe.
According to Chris Barker, a paleontologist from the University of Southhampton, "This was a huge animal," going beyond 10 meters in length, and judging from some of the dimensions, perhaps represents the "largest predatory dinosaur" ever discovered in Europe. It's just a shame; it is only known from such limited material.
Spinosaurus Fossils
Spinosaurus fossils are exceptionally rare. Only three suspected species have been discovered on the Isle of Wight, and they were only found in the past couple of years.
Barker and his colleagues suspect their latest find on the southwest coast is its unique species, although it is hard to say with such limited remnants.
The bones from the pelvis and tail of the dinosaur specify it was huge, and the webbing on its vertebra is suggestive of the Suinosaurus genus.
Moreover, the environment in which the fossils were found also aligns with what's known of Spinosauruses. The rock the fossil was buried in is all that remains of the "once sandy lagoon" in which the predator possibly fished, a related SciTech Daily report said.
'White Rock' Spinosaurid
If the dinosaur was like other spinosaurs at that time, it might even have been a skilled swimmer. For now, the authors of the study published in PeerJ have tentatively named the dinosaur the "White Rock spinosaurid" because of its suspected clade and the sandstone it was discovered in.
However, whether or not the remains belong to an unidentified spinosaurid or another impressively gigantic theropod stays up for argument.
According to Darren Naish, a vertebrate paleontologist from the University of Southampton, they haven't given it an official or formal scientific name since it is only known from remnants at the moment. He added, that they're hoping that additional remains "will turn up in time."
Related information about dinosaur fossil discovery is shown on New China TV's YouTube video below:
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