Largest Predatory Dinosaur Unearthed on the Isle of Wight

Despite having a surface size of only 148 square miles (384 km2), the Isle of Wight, an English island, is one of Europe’s most Dinosaur-rich areas. In fact, over 20 species from the early Cretaceous Period have been discovered there, including those that were discovered for the first time on the island. The discovery follows prior research on spinosaurids by a team from the University of Southampton, which released a publication in 2021 detailing the discovery of two new species.

Spinosaurids are a carnivorous theropod Dinosaur family that first appeared in the Jurassic era and rose to prominence throughout the Cretaceous. Spinosaurid fossils have been discovered in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia. Paleontologists at the University of Southampton have discovered the remains of one of Europe’s largest land-based hunts, a 10m-long Dinosaur that lived some 125 million years ago.

Several prehistoric bones discovered on the Isle of Wight, on England’s south coast, and housed at the Dinosaur Isle Museum in Sandown belonged to spinosaurids, a kind of two-legged, crocodile-faced carnivorous . It was known as the ‘White Rock spinosaurid,’ after the geological strata in where it was discovered, and it was a massive predator.

This was a massive beast, measuring more than 10 metres in length and weighing many tonnes.” According to some of the proportions, it seems to be one of the largest predatory Dinosaur ever discovered in Europe – maybe the largest ever known,” said research leader PhD student Chris Barker. “It’s a shame we just have a tiny bit of information, but it’s enough to prove it was a massive beast.”