SCIENTISTS have found a terrifying crocodile-headed dinosaur believed to be the largest prehistoric meat eater in Europe, on the Isle of Wight.
The 33-foot carnivore had rows of sharp teeth, sharp claws like a razor, could move quickly, and would eat anything it hunted on land or in the sea.
2
Scientists have found a crocodile-headed dinosaur on the Isle of Wight, nicknamed the White Rock Spinoaurid. Credit: PA
2
Only fragments of its 125 million-year-old fossilized skeleton have been found in an ancient lagoon Credit: PA
It was larger than the T-Rex, widely seen as the fiercest dinosaur, and could have given the predator “a run for its money,” experts say.
Called the White Rock Spinoaurid, humans would have been a light appetizer for the monster if we had existed at the same time.
Only fragments of its 125 million-year-old fossilized skeleton have been found in an ancient lagoon.
Bone tests should reveal the age of the goliath when he died.
Researcher Dr. Jeremy Lockwood of the Natural History Museum in London said: “This was almost certainly the largest terrestrial predator in Europe and one of the largest ever to live in the world.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“He was an active hunter and humans would have been an easy prey. He probably could have swallowed us in one gulp.
“Apart from being exceptionally big, we think he could probably run pretty fast too, so if you come face to face with one, it might be hard for you to escape.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“His bite wasn’t that powerful, but it was considerably longer: a really huge animal.”
The dinosaur was related to two other huge carnivores found on the Isle of Wight last year.
They were the infernal Ceratosuchops, which translates as “horned heron from hell with a horned crocodile face”, and Riparovenator milnerae, meaning “shore hunter”.
The largest carnivorous dinosaur in Europe was previously thought to be the 30-foot Torvosaurus gurneyi, which once roamed Spain.