New dinosaur species discovered in century-old museum fossil

Researchers have identified a new species of megaraptor dinosaur, named ‘Invictibellatrix amberina’, using a century-old fossil. The specimen, a fragment of a posterior skull, was originally excavated by amateur collector Reginald Walter Tooley and entered the Natural History Museum collection in 1924.

Living approximately 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous, this bipedal carnivore was relatively small, estimated to be about 1.5 meters long. Unlike the Tyrannosaurus rex, which relied heavily on its jaws, this species utilized large, curved claws on slender arms to hunt prey such as mammals, lizards, and smaller dinosaurs. Scientists believe the creature may have been covered in feathers and occupied an ecological niche similar to that of a modern hyena.

The discovery was made possible through modern technology, including CT scanning, after the fossil remained unexamined in museum archives for nearly 100 years.