Newtonsaurus cambrensis is very large, larger than most, if not all, contemporary predators. For a therapod dinosaur from the Triassic era to be so large is essentially unprecedented.
Scientists in the United Kingdom have managed to identify a new species of dinosaur from a fossil found over 125 years ago, according to a recent study.
The dinosaur fossil in question had been on display at the National Museum of Wales for years. Still, it had only now been identified as a new species, dubbed Newtonsaurus cambrensis in honor of Edwin Tully Newton, who first described it back in 1899.
The findings of this study were published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association.
A long time coming: Identifying a dinosaur fossil 125 years later
The dinosaur fossil in question, a lower jawbone, was first named by Newton as Zanclodon cambrensis and has been referenced in numerous studies and papers over the past century. However, that didn’t mean researchers were actually clear about what it was – in fact, they didn’t even know if it was a dinosaur.
The term Zanclodon isn’t actually a type of dinosaur. Rather, it is an example of what is referred to as a wastebasket taxon, meaning a label to group plants or animals that don’t fit anywhere else.
This sort of catch-all terminology was used for Zanclodon cambrensis for many years.
The mystery fossil was later referred to in the 1990s as Megalosaurus cambrensis, grouping it with the Megalosaurus genus.
This, in theory, made sense. The Megalosaurus genus consisted of large meat-eating theropods that lumbered around what is now southern England in the Middle Jurassic.
This genus is historically significant in paleontology, having been named in 1824 after being first described in the 17th century.
However, the mystery fossil, now known to belong to the Newtonsaurus genus, was a bit of an outlier. While Megalosauruses dated back to the Middle Jurassic, this mystery fossil was from the Triassic.
Widespread scientific consensus holds that large carnivorous dinosaurs first emerged in the Middle Jurassic, with the large predator niche in the Triassic being occupied by the ancestors of crocodiles, among others, such as rauisuchians, which are technically archosaurs rather than dinosaurs.
But with advancements in technology, researchers were now able to study the fossil and finally dispel all doubt surrounding this creature’s identity.
Through the use of modern digital scanners, the researchers were able to create a 3D digital reconstruction – a necessity, since the fossil itself is merely a natural mold of the jawbone in the rock, with the bone itself having long since decomposed.
This reconstruction was made possible by scanning the fossil, inverting it, and then fusing the two sides together.
Now they had an idea of what the jawbone actually looked like. And from there, the researchers extrapolated everything else, such as taxonomy.
The scientists noticed similarities to some other early theropods, such as Liliensternus and Dilophasaurus, and less in common with other archosaurs of the era, leaving little doubt that it is, in fact, a dinosaur. But crucially, various aspects of the morphology definitively put it outside the Megalosaurus genus.
The more likely conclusion is that this is actually an entirely new genus, Newtonsaurus, with this specific species being Newtonsaurus cambrensis, a hitherto unknown species of large predator that prowled South Wales during the Triassic era.
However, this discovery has more implications than simply adding another new species name. Newtonsaurus cambrensis is very large, larger than most, if not all, contemporary predators. For a therapod dinosaur from the Triassic era to be so large is essentially unprecedented.
However, it also reveals the tantalizing possibility that even more dinosaurs like this could be out there – albeit dead, naturally – waiting to be discovered. Specifically, they could be waiting to be found in Wales.
The Newtonsaurus cambrensis fossil was found in a Welsh Triassic fossil bed site. These are rather rare worldwide, but as co-author Cindy Howells noted in a statement, there are several across Wales. Meaning that the possibility of finding another Triassic predator fossil still exists.
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