What the Isle of Wight Megaraptoran Fossil Reveals

The partial skull belongs to a newly named predator, adding evidence that megaraptorans lived in Europe about 120 million years ago.

ScienceOctober 15, 20263 min readHow Sureno writes this

The short version

The fossil has been named Invictibellatrix amberina, a megaraptoran and the first member of that group reported from Europe. ¹²
It is a fragment from the back of a skull, found on the Isle of Wight more than a century ago and acquired by the Natural History Museum in 1924. ¹
Researchers estimate the dinosaur was about three to four metres long and lived around 120 million years ago. ¹²
The discovery adds to what is known about megaraptorans, but a skull fragment cannot reveal the animal’s complete appearance or behaviour. ¹²

What is the newly identified Isle of Wight dinosaur?

The species is called Invictibellatrix amberina. Researchers identified it from a small fossil piece from the rear of a skull. Their report places it among the megaraptorans and marks the first discovery of this group in Europe. ¹²

Amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley found the fossil at the base of a cliff on the Isle of Wight’s south-west coast. The Natural History Museum acquired it in 1924, but the specimen’s significance was recognised much later. ¹

What is a megaraptoran?

Megaraptorans were meat-eating dinosaurs that walked on two legs. They were related to tyrannosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus rex, but are described as having slimmer skulls and large forelimbs with curved claws. ¹²

Some members of the group became very large. Invictibellatrix was comparatively small and is among the earlier known examples, according to the reports. ¹² The sources describe its anatomy, but do not establish exactly how this individual caught its food.

How big was Invictibellatrix amberina?

Researchers estimate that it measured roughly three to four metres from head to tail and stood a little more than one and a half metres tall. A report compares its size with a large tiger. These are estimates because the fossil is not a complete skeleton. ¹²

The BBC report also says the animal likely had feathers and claws around 20 centimetres long. Those details are reconstructions; the reported specimen is a skull fragment, not preserved feathers or claws. ¹

When did it live, and why does the discovery matter?

The reports place Invictibellatrix in the Early Cretaceous, around 120 million years ago. ¹² Its identification means megaraptorans are now known from Europe as well as from other regions represented in the group’s fossil record. ²

The case also illustrates how an old museum specimen can be re-examined and identified in a new way. This fossil had been held by the Natural History Museum since 1924 before researchers described it as a new species. ¹

What can one skull fragment tell us—and what remains uncertain?

The fragment gives researchers evidence to identify the animal as a megaraptoran and to describe it as a distinct species. The published name is Invictibellatrix amberina. ¹²

It does not provide a complete view of the dinosaur. Its overall dimensions, feathers and claw size are estimates or interpretations in the reports, while its precise hunting behaviour and prey are not established by the available information. ¹²

What we don't know yet

The available reports describe a skull fragment rather than a complete skeleton, leaving much of the animal’s anatomy undocumented.
The sources do not establish exactly how Invictibellatrix hunted or what it ate.
The provided source summaries do not give enough detail to explain which specific skull features distinguish this species from other megaraptorans.

New discoveries on every new tab

Sureno Browser puts explainers like this one on your start page every morning, in plain words.

Get Sureno for Mac

Questions people ask

Where was the Invictibellatrix fossil found?

It was discovered at the base of a cliff on the Isle of Wight’s south-west coast by amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley. The Natural History Museum acquired the specimen in 1924. ¹

Was Invictibellatrix the first megaraptoran in Europe?

Yes. The reports identify it as the first megaraptoran found in Europe. The fossil came from the Isle of Wight. ¹²

How long ago did Invictibellatrix live?

It lived around 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period. ¹²

Did the fossil include claws?

No. The specimen described in the reports is a piece from the back of a skull. The estimate of claws about 20 centimetres long comes from the reconstruction, not from claws preserved in this fossil. ¹

Why was the Isle of Wight fossil identified only recently?

The fossil had been in the Natural History Museum’s collection since 1924, but its significance had not been recognised. The available report does not describe every step in the later identification. ¹

Sources

Isle of Wight fossil identified as new dinosaur species — BBC News
Isle of Wight fossil Europe's first known long-clawed megaraptoran dinosaur — Phys.org, 2026-10-13