Researchers suspect it belongs to an ancestor of T. rex

Aug 27, 2015 20:45 GMT  ·  By

Recently, University of Portsmouth paleontology student Sam Davies happened to find a fossilized dinosaur foot on a beach near the town of Penarth in Wales. 

The ancient limb is embedded in a rock measuring around 8 inches (20 centimeters) across. It belongs to a skeleton paleontologists in the area dug out not long ago, and dates back to around 200 million years ago.

Interestingly, Sam Davies wasn't really looking for anything in particular when he happened to find the dinosaur foot. Rather, he was simply exploring the area.

“It was pure luck that I found it,” the University of Portsmouth student confessed in an interview, as cited by DM. “It was just sitting on top of a slab of rock,” he added.

Specialists suspect the skeleton this foot is part of belongs to an ancestor of T. rex. Although resembling the fierce ancient predator anatomically-wise, this other dinosaur was not all that impressive when it came to its size.

Thus, researchers describe it as a miniature version of T. rex and say it only measured around 20 inches (50 centimeters) in height. So, yes, it was more like an oversized chicken than a proper dinosaur.

Nonetheless, paleontologists explain that, 200 million years ago, dinosaurs were just beginning to diversify and the real bad boys had not yet evolved.

“This dinosaur was primitive,” University of Portsmouth researcher David Martill said in a statement.

What the dinosaur probably looked like
What the dinosaur probably looked like

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The fossilized foot is embedded in a rock
What the dinosaur probably looked like
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