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| Welsh dinosaur bones confirmed as new Jurassic species | Welsh dinosaur bones confirmed as new Jurassic species |
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| It died nearby on a prehistoric island, was washed out to sea, and became encased in a cliff face near the Glamorganshire Golf Club. | It died nearby on a prehistoric island, was washed out to sea, and became encased in a cliff face near the Glamorganshire Golf Club. |
| The small, meat-eating dinosaur, the first from the Jurassic to be found in Wales, was discovered in 2014 by local amateurs, who spotted its bones amid the debris of a recent rock fall. | The small, meat-eating dinosaur, the first from the Jurassic to be found in Wales, was discovered in 2014 by local amateurs, who spotted its bones amid the debris of a recent rock fall. |
| Now fully analysed, scientists have confirmed the remains belong to a new dinosaur species and, drawing on the national symbol of Wales, have named the dog-sized predator Dracoraptor hanigani, the first part of the name meaning “dragon robber” and the second part honouring the brothers who found it. | Now fully analysed, scientists have confirmed the remains belong to a new dinosaur species and, drawing on the national symbol of Wales, have named the dog-sized predator Dracoraptor hanigani, the first part of the name meaning “dragon robber” and the second part honouring the brothers who found it. |
| “It’s the best dinosaur fossil Wales has ever had,” said Steven Vidovic, a palaeontologist at Portsmouth University, who worked on the remains. The skeleton is now on display at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff. | “It’s the best dinosaur fossil Wales has ever had,” said Steven Vidovic, a palaeontologist at Portsmouth University, who worked on the remains. The skeleton is now on display at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff. |
| Amateur fossil hunters Nick and Rob Hanigan were looking for remnants of ancient marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs when they noticed a heap of boulders that had crumbled off the cliff face and crashed onto the shore at Lavernock Point on the Severn estuary. | Amateur fossil hunters Nick and Rob Hanigan were looking for remnants of ancient marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs when they noticed a heap of boulders that had crumbled off the cliff face and crashed onto the shore at Lavernock Point on the Severn estuary. |
| Some of the rocks had bones poking out of them, bones that could only belong to a dinosaur. The Hanigans gathered the material, prepared the fossils, and then alerted the museum and academic experts who collected more material from the site and performed their own analysis. | Some of the rocks had bones poking out of them, bones that could only belong to a dinosaur. The Hanigans gathered the material, prepared the fossils, and then alerted the museum and academic experts who collected more material from the site and performed their own analysis. |
| They now have bones from all over its body, including the snout, teeth, neck, most of the arm and hand, the pelvis, and large parts of leg, foot and tail. Pieced together, Dracoraptor emerges as a beast that stood 70cm tall and reached 2m from snout to tail-tip. Its sharp front teeth are backed up by others shaped like serrated steak knives, leaving no doubt that it was a meat-eater. | They now have bones from all over its body, including the snout, teeth, neck, most of the arm and hand, the pelvis, and large parts of leg, foot and tail. Pieced together, Dracoraptor emerges as a beast that stood 70cm tall and reached 2m from snout to tail-tip. Its sharp front teeth are backed up by others shaped like serrated steak knives, leaving no doubt that it was a meat-eater. |
| The fossil was encased in sedimentary rock dating back 200 million years to the start of the Jurassic when dinosaurs were on the brink of diversifying into a breathtaking variety of species. | The fossil was encased in sedimentary rock dating back 200 million years to the start of the Jurassic when dinosaurs were on the brink of diversifying into a breathtaking variety of species. |
| Vidovic said the animal must have died on a nearby island and washed into the sea where it quickly sank to the bottom. There, prehistoric sea urchins called echinoids swarmed over the carcass, removing skin and sinews. Over tens of millions of years, the bones became buried in sediments, which today form the cliff face at Lavernock Point. | Vidovic said the animal must have died on a nearby island and washed into the sea where it quickly sank to the bottom. There, prehistoric sea urchins called echinoids swarmed over the carcass, removing skin and sinews. Over tens of millions of years, the bones became buried in sediments, which today form the cliff face at Lavernock Point. |
| “What we have is an inquisitive, nippy little animal the size of a German shepherd dog,” said Vidovic. Unlike the scraps of bone recovered from many Jurassic dinosaurs, scientists have about 40% of Dracoraptor, making it one of the most complete from the period worldwide. Details are published in the journal Plos One. | “What we have is an inquisitive, nippy little animal the size of a German shepherd dog,” said Vidovic. Unlike the scraps of bone recovered from many Jurassic dinosaurs, scientists have about 40% of Dracoraptor, making it one of the most complete from the period worldwide. Details are published in the journal Plos One. |
| “There was an extinction event at end of the Triassic, perhaps one millions years before this dinosaur appeared. It wiped out a lot of larger land animals and opened up an ecological niche for dinosaurs to expand into,” said Vidovic. “But the fossil record is poor for this period, we mostly have only scraps of bone from the early Jurassic. This fossil fills in a gap in our knowledge.” | “There was an extinction event at end of the Triassic, perhaps one millions years before this dinosaur appeared. It wiped out a lot of larger land animals and opened up an ecological niche for dinosaurs to expand into,” said Vidovic. “But the fossil record is poor for this period, we mostly have only scraps of bone from the early Jurassic. This fossil fills in a gap in our knowledge.” |
| It is extremely rare to find a dinosaur fossil at Lavernock Point. The rock face was formed from ocean sediments and the odds of a section containing dinosaur remains are exceptionally slim. “If people do go out looking for fossils, they should contact a museum if they find any remains that may be from dinosaurs,” said Vidovic. “We don’t want half of this one ending up on someone’s mantlepiece.” | It is extremely rare to find a dinosaur fossil at Lavernock Point. The rock face was formed from ocean sediments and the odds of a section containing dinosaur remains are exceptionally slim. “If people do go out looking for fossils, they should contact a museum if they find any remains that may be from dinosaurs,” said Vidovic. “We don’t want half of this one ending up on someone’s mantlepiece.” |
| • This article was amended on 22 January 2015 to add more detail about the Hanigans’ work gathering and preparing the fossils, and to clarify the meaning and origin of the dinosaur’s name. | • This article was amended on 22 January 2015 to add more detail about the Hanigans’ work gathering and preparing the fossils, and to clarify the meaning and origin of the dinosaur’s name. |