Scientists from the Natural History Museum and the University of Birmingham have described a new species of dinosaur from specimens found in a quarry in Pant-y-ffynnon in southern Wales. Following on from a new species of ankylosaur , Pendraig milnerae marks the second new species of dinosaur described by Museum scientists in the last few weeks. The new dinosaur is a theropod, a group which also includes T. rex and modern birds. Pendraig milnerae is the earliest example of a theropod found in the UK so far, living between 200 and 215 million years ago during the Late Triassic period. It likely had a body size around that of a modern-day chicken and would have been a metre long including its tail. The fragmentary fossils of the species consist of an articulated pelvic girdle, sacrum and posterior dorsal vertebrae, and an associated left femur, and by two referred specimens, comprising an isolated dorsal vertebra and a partial left ischium. Richard Butler , co-author on the paper and Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Birmingham, said: 'Dinosaur discoveries are really rare in Wales, and this is only the third dinosaur species known from the country.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.