The body length of the dinosaur exceeded 10 meters.
Scientists have discovered the remains of a dinosaur, which is probably was the largest land predator that ever lived in Europe. According to Science Alert, fossils have been found off the coast of England. The only one who can compete for this title is the megalosaurus, known from an unpublished description of a large vertebra discovered in Jurassic geology in France.
Read also: Paleontologists have discovered the remains of a new species of dinosaurs with “terrible” claws
Theropods were the dominant group of dinosaurs, which included tyrannosaurs, megalosaurs, velociraptors, and spinosaurs. In the early Jurassic period, these creatures were the only terrestrial predators, and spinosaurs were probably the largest of them.
Fossils of spinosaurs found in the channels of ancient rivers in North Africa can reach enormous proportions. Their bodies could be more than 15 meters long and weigh 13 tons.
The remains found on the Isle of Wight are not as large, but scientists say they are much larger than the fossils of other spinosaurs found in the south. -Western Europe.
“It was a huge animal, more than 10 meters long, and judging by its size, it was probably the largest predatory dinosaur ever found in Europe,” said paleontologist Chris Barker of the University of Southampton.
< It is noted that the remains of spinosaurs are extremely rare, on the Isle of Wight made only three similar finds, which were discovered in the last few years. Barker and his colleagues believe that the discovered remains belong to a new species, but this cannot be stated unequivocally, as there are few remains.
The pelvic bones of the dinosaur indicate that it was huge, and the membranes on the vertebrae – that it belonged to spinosaurs. The environment in which the fossils were found is also consistent with what is known about spinosaurs at the moment.
The rock in which the remains were found is all that remains of the sandy lagoon in which was probably a predator fishing. If the dinosaur was similar to other spinosaurs, it was most likely a skilled swimmer. At the same time, the question of whether this creature was a spinosaurus or another theropod still remains open. Because researchers have now found only fragments of a dinosaur skeleton, it has been given a scientific name. . Researchers estimate that the embryo is at least 66 million years old.
