The discovery of a dinosaur that was distantly related to Tyrannosaurus Rex, but with a body similar to a chicken, has led to the discovery of a dinosaur that was likely to have ruled the roost around 200m years ago.
This diminutive, but deadly creature was found in a quarry near south Wales. It is part of the oldest theropod group, which also includes T rex, modern birds, and other animals.
It was named Pendraig millnerae, which translates to chief dragon in middle Welsh. The name is in honor of Angela Milner who was a staunch supporter of the Natural History Museums dinosaur gallery as well as a researcher and deputy keeper of palaeontology at this museum for over 30 years.
Pendraig millnerae fragmentary fossils were found in a quarry in South Wales in the 1950s. However, they had been kept in a drawer for many years with crocodile specimens until Milner discovered them.
The dinosaur lived between 200m to 215m years ago in the Late Triassic period. It was likely to have had a body similar to a modern chicken's, with a tail that measured about a metre in length.
Stephan Spiekman is a researcher at the Natural History Museum. He said that Pendraig millnerae lived close to the beginning of evolution of meat-eating dinosaurs. The bones show that this animal was a meat-eater. However, these animals were small at the beginning of the evolution of this group, unlike the much larger meat-eating dinosaurs such as T rex.
To honor its potential role as an apex predator, Spiekman and his associates gave the specimen the name of dragon chief. Milner, who passed away in August, is appropriate as she played an important role in the relocation of the specimen and contributed significantly to our understanding of theropod dinosaurs.
This new species may also be evidence of island dwarfism. Spiekman stated that the area in which these specimens were discovered was most likely an island at the time it lived. Island dwarfism is a phenomenon where species living on islands tend to be smaller than those that live on the mainland.
He stated that Pendraig wasn't fully grown and therefore it was impossible to draw conclusions. To investigate the possibility of island dwarfism occurring in this region during this time, we need to collect more evidence from other species. However, if this could be proven, it would be the first known instance of this evolutionary phenomenon.
Richard Butler, coauthor of the paper and professor of Palaeobiology at Birmingham University, stated: Dinosaur discovery are very rare in Wales. This is only the third known species of dinosaur from the country. It is very exciting to find out more about the dinosaurs who lived in the UK during Triassic, which was the beginning of dinosaur evolution.
Kenneth Kermack and Pamela Robinson, palaeontologists, found the remains in the 1950s. The remains were examined, but the creature wasn't named.
Susannah Maidment was a senior paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum. She tried to find the specimen and called Milner for assistance. She left and found it within three hours. It was in a drawer containing crocodile fabric.
