Long-Clawed Dinosaur Found Hidden in Museum Collection

A dinosaur fossil that sat unnoticed in a museum collection for nearly a century has turned out to belong to a previously unknown predator with enormous curved claws. The long-clawed dinosaur Invictibellatrix amberina was about the size of a large tiger and lived in what is now Britain about 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous. A research team led by University College London identified the animal from a fragment of the back of its skull, originally found on the Isle of Wight and held by the Natural History Museum in London since 1924. The work was described in Royal Society Open Science on 14 October 2026.

Invictibellatrix amberina is the first known European member of a group of meat-eating dinosaurs called megaraptorans, a group known mainly from other parts of the world. It was among the earliest and smallest known members of that group, yet its claws suggest it was a capable hunter in its coastal environment. The fossil was collected by amateur palaeontologist Reginald Walter Tooley near the base of a cliff on the southwestern coast of the Isle of Wight. For decades, its importance went unrecognised, until fresh study revealed features that set it apart from every other known dinosaur.

Why the long-clawed dinosaur Invictibellatrix matters

The discovery shows that museum collections still hold new species waiting to be recognised, and that old specimens can answer new questions when studied with fresh eyes. It also reshapes the map of megaraptoran dinosaurs, showing that the group reached Europe early in its history. Researchers say the find helps explain how these predators spread and diversified during the Cretaceous. For visitors to the Isle of Wight, a place already famous for dinosaur finds, it adds another remarkable animal to a landscape that continues to yield surprises from rocks laid down long ago.

Source: SciTechDaily