The Discovery

A fossil skull fragment that sat in the collections of London's Natural History Museum for nearly a century has finally been identified as a completely new species of carnivorous dinosaur. Named Invictibellatrix amberina, the creature lived roughly 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.

The original specimen was gathered at the base of a cliff along the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight by amateur fossil hunter Reginald Walter Tooley. Following Tooley's death in 1924, the museum obtained his collection of more than 1,000 specimens, including the unidentified fragment. Although experts recognized that the bone belonged to a dinosaur, its exact classification remained a mystery for decades.

What Scientists Found

Modern researchers re-examined the fossil using CT scanning technology to inspect its inner structure and construct a digital 3D model. The investigation was led by Dr Cassius Morrison of University College London, with Professor Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum serving as senior author. Their findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

The analysis revealed several key details about the animal:

  • Classification: It is a megaraptoran, a category of predatory dinosaurs closely related to tyrannosaurs that featured slender heads, large arms, and giant curved claws.
  • Size: It grew to an estimated length of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) and stood around 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall.
  • Appearance: Scientists suggest it might have possessed feathers, though its precise physical look remains uncertain.
  • Diet: It filled a niche similar to a modern hyena, preying on lizards, small mammals, and smaller dinosaurs. While not the apex predator of its ecosystem, its size would have made it particularly dangerous to humans.

Why It Matters

This study provides the very first confirmed evidence of a megaraptoran dinosaur in Europe. Prior to this, members of the group had only been definitively identified in South America, Australia, and Asia. The breakthrough highlights the immense scientific value of re-examining historic museum archives, proving that major prehistoric discoveries can still emerge from long-stored collections.

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Source: dinosaur fossil discovery - BingNews · Published October 16, 2026 · Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash