Isle of Wight dinosaur tooth sheds light on Eotyrannus

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A "pristine" dinosaur tooth found on the Isle of Wight has shed new light on a predator related to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Student Megan Jacobs found the fossilised front tooth of an Eotyrannus lengii while walking at Compton Bay.

It suggests the Eotyrannus could have been 20ft long - larger than previously estimated.

Oliver Mattison of the Dinosaur Expeditions Centre said the find was "tantalising".

Isle of Wight dinosaur tooth sheds light on Eotyrannus


BBC News
19 May 2016


Megan Jacobs found the tooth on Compton Beach on the Isle of Wight

A "pristine" dinosaur tooth found on the Isle of Wight has shed new light on a predator related to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Student Megan Jacobs found the fossilised front tooth of an Eotyrannus lengii while walking at Compton Bay.

It suggests the Eotyrannus could have been 20ft long - larger than previously estimated.

Oliver Mattison of the Dinosaur Expeditions Centre said the find was "tantalising".

He said it raised the prospect that a complete skeleton could be found somewhere along the Isle of Wight coastline.

Palaeontology student Ms Jacobs spotted the 1.1 inch tooth in a fresh cliff-side rockfall on the island's western shore.





"I could tell it was a big carnivore tooth. It was in pristine condition," she said.

She took the tooth to the Dinosaur Expeditions Centre, where Mr Mattison said it was from the front of the creature's mouth and its distinctive serrated pattern marked it out as a Tyrannosaur.

The island is believed to be the only place where remains of the species have been unearthed.

It was previously estimated to have been about 13ft in length.

Mr Mattison said: "It is significantly bigger than previous finds and shows Eotyrannus was definitely bigger than estimates and may be even bigger still."

The tooth will now be placed on display at the volunteer-run Dinosaur Expeditions Centre museum in nearby Brighstone.

Eotyrannus lengii




Roamed land where the Isle of Wight is now located during the Cretaceous period.

Member of the tyrannosauroids group, which included Tyrannosaurus rex

Walked on two legs and preyed on small dinosaurs

One of the top predators 125 million years ago. The larger T-rex appeared some 50 million years later

Only one incomplete skeleton has been discovered, by collector Gavin Leng at Brighstone Bay in 1995

Source: Dinosaur Isle


Isle of Wight dinosaur tooth sheds lights on Eotyrannus - BBC News
 
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