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Scientists identify Britain’s oldest carnivorous dinosaur

Scientists have identified the oldest known carnivorous dinosaur from the UK.

Theropods – the group that includes Tyrannosaurus – were about the size of a chicken but three feet long with a tail.

The fossil contains specimens from the pelvis, spine and left femur.

Picture:
The fossils are more than 200 million years old. Image: Natural History Museum

They were found in a quarry in Pant-y-ffynnon, South Wales, in the 1950s and are more than 200 million years old.

They were described in a 1983 dissertation, but scientists now realize that this means the discovery of a new species – the oldest theropod discovered in the UK.

The dinosaur was named Pendraig milnerae – Pendraig means “main dragon” in Middle Welsh, and the milnerae was named in honor of Dr. Angela Milner, who was deputy custodian of paleontology at the Natural History Museum for more than 30 years.

dr. Milner played an important role in moving specimens and educating people about theropod dinosaurs in England.

He died in August.

dr. Stephan Spiekman, researcher at the Natural History Museum and first author of the article, said: “Pendraig milnerae lived early in the evolution of carnivorous dinosaurs.

“From the bones we have, it’s clear that it was a carnivore, but when this group started to evolve, these animals were quite small, unlike the very well-known carnivorous dinosaurs like T. rex which evolved much later.”

Research from the Natural History Museum and the University of Birmingham is published in the Royal Society Open Science.

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