The discovery of the two new spinosaurids on the Isle of Wight paints a more diverse picture of the predators roaming the UK during the Early Cretaceous. “We found the skulls to differ not only from Baryonyx, but also one another, suggesting the UK housed a greater diversity of spinosaurids than previously thought,” said Chris Barker, lead study author and PhD student at the University of Southampton, in a statement. The largest of the spinosaurids was Spinosaurus, discovered in North Africa in 1915 and featured in “Jurassic Park III.” Previously, the only known spinosaurid fossil from the UK belonged to the large-clawed predator Baryonyx, discovered in Surrey in 1983. “Then it just got more and more amazing as several collectors found and donated other parts of this enormous jigsaw to the museum.”Ī study describing the two species published Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports. “We realised after the two snouts were found that this would be something rare and unusual,” said fossil collector Jeremy Lockwood in a statement shared in a University of Southampton release.

“This is the rarest and most exciting find I’ve made in over 30 years of fossil collecting,” said fossil collector Brian Foster in a statement shared in a University of Southampton release. The fossils will soon be on display at the Dinosaur Isle Museum.

Now, researchers have uncovered two previously unknown species of predatory dinosaurs called spinosaurids, armed with crocodile-like skulls that helped them hunt down prey in the water as well as on land.įossil collectors found pieces belonging to two skulls, and a team from the island’s Dinosaur Isle Museum discovered tail bones on the beach, dating back to the Early Cretaceous period 125 million years ago.

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