New dinosaur cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex discovered on Isle of Wight

A new species of dinosaur has been discovered on the Isle of Wight.

The creature is from the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex and roamed the Earth some 115 million years ago, scientists say.

The dinosaur, which is a new species of theropod – the group that includes modern-day birds – has been named Vectaerovenator inopinatus.

Paleontologists from the University of Southampton say it is estimated to have been up to four metres long.

Four bones, from the beast’s neck back and tail, were discovered on the shores of Shanklin last year.

The fossils were found over a period of weeks in 2019 in three separate discoveries – two by individuals and one by a family group, who all handed in their finds to the nearby Dinosaur Isle Museum at Sandown.

Scientific study has confirmed the fossils are very likely to be from the same individual dinosaur, with the exact location and timing of the finds adding to this belief.

Robin Ward, a regular fossil hunter from Stratford-upon-Avon, was with his family visiting the Isle of Wight when they made their discovery.

He said: “The joy of finding the bones we discovered was absolutely fantastic. I thought they were special and so took them along when we visited Dinosaur Isle Museum.

“They immediately knew these were something rare and asked if we could donate them to the museum to be fully researched.”

James Lockyer, from Spalding, Lincolnshire was also visiting the island when he found another of the bones.

He said: “It looked different from marine reptile vertebrae I have come across in the past.

“I was searching a spot at Shanklin and had been told and read that I wouldn’t find much there.

“However, I always make sure I search the areas others do not, and on this occasion it paid off.”

After studying the four vertebrae, palaeontologists from Southampton university confirmed that the bones are likely to belong to a genus of dinosaur previously unknown to science.

Their findings will be published in the journal Papers In Palaeontology.

Chris Barker, a PhD student at the university who led the study, said: “We were struck by just how hollow this animal was – it’s riddled with air spaces.

“Parts of its skeleton must have been rather delicate.

“The record of theropod dinosaurs from the ‘mid’ Cretaceous period in Europe isn’t that great, so it’s been really exciting to be able to increase our understanding of the diversity of dinosaur species from this time.

“You don’t usually find dinosaurs in the deposits at Shanklin as they were laid down in a marine habitat.

“You’re much more likely to find fossil oysters or driftwood, so this is a rare find indeed.”

Scientists say that it is likely the Vectaerovenator lived in an area just north of where its remains were found, with the carcass having washed out into the shallow sea nearby.

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