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A dinosaur distantly related to Tyrannosaurus rex – but with a body the size of a chicken – that likely ruled the roost around 200 million years ago has been discovered.
The tiny but fearsome creature, whose fossilized remains were found in a South Wales quarry, is the oldest theropod – a group that includes T rex and modern birds – found in the UK.
He’s been nominated Pendraig milnerae – pendraig meaning “dragon chief” in Middle Welsh and milnerae in honor of the late Angela Milner, a mainstay of the Natural History Museum’s Dinosaur Gallery and associate researcher and custodian of paleontology at the museum for over 30 years.
Fragmentary fossils of Pendraig milnerae were discovered in a South Wales quarry in the 1950s, but in recent years they have been hidden in a drawer with crocodile samples until they were found by Milner.
It is believed that the dinosaur lived between 200 and 215 million years ago during the Upper Triassic Period. It probably had a body size similar to that of a modern day chicken, but with its tail making it about three feet long.
Stephan Spiekman, researcher at the Natural History Museum, said: “Pendraig milnerae lived near the beginning of the evolution of carnivorous dinosaurs. It is clear from the bones we have that it was a meat eater, but at the beginning of the evolution of this group, these animals were quite small, unlike the very famous carnivorous dinosaurs like the T rex which evolved much later.
Spiekman and his colleagues gave him the name of Dragon Chief to honor his likely position as the supreme predator. The reference to Milner, who died in August, was appropriate as she played a pivotal role in the movement of the specimen, as well as a significant contribution to the understanding of theropod dinosaurs.
The discovery of this new species could also provide evidence of potential island dwarfism. Spiekman said, “The area where these specimens were found was most likely an island when they lived. Species that live on islands often tend to become smaller than those on the mainland in a phenomenon called island dwarfism.
He said this because Pendraig was not fully developed, it was not possible to draw any conclusions about it. “We need more evidence from more species to study the potential for island dwarfism in this region during this time period, but if we could prove it, this would be the first known occurrence of this evolutionary phenomenon.”
Richard Butler, co-author of an article on the dinosaur and professor of paleobiology at the University of Birmingham, said: “Discoveries of dinosaurs are really rare in Wales, and it is only the third species of dinosaur known in the country. It’s very exciting to learn more about the dinosaurs that lived here in the UK during the Triassic period, just at the dawn of dinosaur evolution. “
The remains were found in the 1950s by paleontologists Pamela Robinson and Kenneth Kermack. They have been studied, but the creature has not been named.
Susannah Maidment, a senior palaeobiology researcher at the Natural History Museum, was trying to locate the specimen and turned to Milner for help. “She left and about three hours later she got it. She found it in a drawer with crocodile material.
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