The Isle of Wight, in the English Channel off the coast of Hampshire has long been known for its scenic beauty its connection to Queen Victoria, its annual music festival, and its dinosaur fossils.
The Guardian reported that the remains of a huge spinosaur, believed to be the largest predator dinosaur in Europe were found on the Isle of Wight. Although it is only a partial fossil, paleontoloogists have found enough of the Cretaceous era creature to determine it measured ten meters from snout to tail.
Dr Neil Gostling, a palaeobiologist at the University of Southampton, said, “From the bones that we’ve got, this animal may be the largest predatory dinosaur that has ever been found in Europe.” Chris Barker, the Ph.D, student who led the study, lamented not enough of the dinosaur had been recovered to determine whether or not it is a new species of spinosaur. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the average spinosaurus was fourteen to eighteen meters in length (roughly forty-six to fifty-nine feet. Since this speciman is only a partial fossil (some of it was eaten millennia ago), it is unclear whether this individual was an exceptionally large spinosaur, or whether it may have been a larger subspecies of spinosaur. Scholars from the University of Southamptom had previously identified two new species of spinosaur ,so it’s far from impossible.
The Isle of Wight is home to Dinosaur Isle Museum.
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
