New dinosaur species which preyed on humans discovered from Isle of Wight fossil overlooked for 100 years

 A long-forgotten fossil has revealed a new species of long-clawed dinosaur that roamed Britain 120 million years ago.

The tiger-sized predator has been named Invictibellatrix amberina, and scientists say it would have viewed humans as perfectly-sized prey. The remarkable discovery was made from part of a skull found on the Isle of Wight and acquired by the Natural History Museum in 1924, where its significance went unnoticed for decades.

Scientists have now established it belonged to a previously unknown species of megaraptoran -a mysterious group of agile, two-legged meat-eating dinosaurs closely related to tyrannosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus rex. It is the first evidence that the group, which is thought to have originated in Asia, once lived in Europe.

Dr Cassius Morrison, who led the research at University College London (UCL), said: “It was not the apex predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than a T.rex. We would have been perfectly sized prey, about a third of their body weight.

"They definitely would have chased us. A T.rex would not have bothered, as we would have been too small. It is a real mystery that this fossil was overlooked for so long, sitting in a drawer for nearly 100 years. Lots of bones are found on the Isle of Wight – who knows what else is waiting to be discovered.”

Invictibellatrix is thought to have measured between three and four metres long and stood just over 1.5 metres tall. Rather than relying on huge jaws to take down its victims, the feathered predator is thought to have used powerful arms armed with curved claws measuring up to 20cm.

Dr Morrison said: “Based on what we know about its closest relatives, Invictibellatrix would have been three to four metres long and just over a metre and a half in height – about as tall as a human. It would likely have had feathers, and its claws might have been about 10cm to 20cm long. It would have eaten small dinosaurs, lizards and mammals – occupying a similar role in the food chain to the hyena today.”