A new study led by paleontologists at the University of Southampton suggests that the bones found on the Isle of Wight belong to two new spinosaurus species, a group of predatory carnivorous dinosaurs closely related to giant spinosaurs. Their unusual, crocodile-like skulls helped the group expand their diet, allowing them to hunt prey on land and in the water.
The bones were found over a period of several years on a beach near Brightstone. Keen-eyed fossil collectors initially found parts of two skulls, and staff at the Dinosaur Island Museum found a large part of a tail. In total, more than 50 bones have been excavated from the rocks that form part of the Wessex Formation, which formed during the Early Cretaceous period 125 million years ago.
Skeletal analysis at the University of Southampton, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that they belong to dinosaur species previously unknown to the scientific community. The researchers found that these skulls were not only different from but also different from each other than the baryonyx previously discovered in the UK, suggesting that the UK housed more spinyosaur species than previously thought.
The first specimen was named ceratosuchops inferodios, which translates to "horned crocodile-faced hell heron". The eyebrow area has a series of low horns and raised ornaments, and the name also refers to the possible hunting style of this predator, which will be similar to the way the heron hunts. Herons are known for catching aquatic prey at the water's edge, but their diet is much more flexible than commonly believed and can also include terrestrial prey.
The second was named riparovenator milnerae. This is translated as "Milner's Riverbank Hunter" in honor of the recently deceased esteemed British paleontologist Angela Milner. Dr. Milner has previously studied and named baryonyx, a major paleontological event whose discovery has greatly improved our understanding of these unique carnivores.
It may sound strange to have two similar, closely related carnivores in an ecosystem, but it's actually common in dinosaurs and numerous living ecosystems. Although the bones are incomplete, the researchers estimated that both Ceratosuchops and Riparovenators were around 9 meters long, using their one-meter-long skulls to snatch prey. The study also suggests how " Spinosaurus " evolved in Europe first before dispersing to Asia , Africa and South America.