Sometimes discoveries take centuries. In South Wales, a fossil jawbone collected in 1899 has finally revealed its secret. It sat quietly for more than a hundred years in the National Museum of Wales. Researchers wrote about it, but no one could say for sure what creature it came from.
Now, using modern technology, paleontologists at the University of Bristol have identified it as a new dinosaur species. They have given it a new name too: Newtonsaurus, honoring the man who first described it.
Newtonsaurus: A distinctive name
The fossil itself contains no bone. What remains are natural molds pressed into stone. At first glance, this seems disappointing.
But those impressions preserved details invisible to the naked eye. With 3D scanning, the team brought the jawbone back to life in digital form.
“This specimen has been referred to many times in scientific papers but had yet to be successfully identified,” said study co-author Owain Evans. “It was named Zanclodon cambrensis by Edwin Tully Newton in 1899, but we knew the name Zanclodon had been abandoned because it referred to a broad variety of early reptiles.”
“Therefore, we name it after Newton, calling it Newtonsaurus. It is different from all other dinosaurs from that time and requires a distinctive name.”
Fossil rebuilt through 3D scans
Creating the digital model required patience. The team photographed every angle of the molds, then combined the images into a 3D shape.
By flipping the data, they produced a negative of the impressions, which gave them a digital version of the original jawbone.
“The natural molds of the inner and outer faces of the jawbone show amazing detail – every groove, ridge, tooth, and even the serrations along the edges of the teeth,” said Michael Benton, professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol.
“We decided to use digital photography to make a 3D model. We began by surface scanning the fossil using photogrammetry. Once we had our digital scan, we inverted it – essentially giving us a digital negative of the mold.”
By fusing the sides and analyzing its anatomy, the digital reconstruction revealed a clearer picture of the bone’s original structure.
A predatory, flesh-eating dinosaur
Once reconstructed, the fossil’s features stood out clearly. The placement of the teeth and the jaw shape confirmed it belonged to a theropod. These were meat-eating dinosaurs, ancestors of later giants like Tyrannosaurus rex.
The discovery proved that large predators prowled the Welsh coastline during the Triassic period.
“We can now confirm that this specimen very likely belonged to a large predatory theropod dinosaur that roamed the shores of South Wales during the latest Triassic,” said Evans.
“It has some definite unique dinosaur features in the emplacement of the teeth, and it is a theropod – a predatory, flesh-eating dinosaur. Otherwise, it sits near the origins of both major divisions of Theropoda, the Coelophysoidea and the Averostra.”
Newtonsaurus was unusually large
The jawbone alone measured 28 centimeters (11 inches). But this was only the front half. The full bone stretched around 60 centimeters (24 inches).
That means the dinosaur’s body reached five to seven meters (16 to 23 feet) in length. For the Triassic, this was huge. Most theropods of the time were much smaller.
The preserved 28 cm (11 in) jawbone, once 60 cm (24 in) in life, reveals a large Triassic theropod – unexpectedly large for its kind.
Discovery adds to Welsh prehistory
For paleontologists, the discovery proves that museum collections still hold secrets. For Wales, it adds another important piece to its prehistoric record. The Triassic beds of the region are rare and globally significant.
“These historical specimens are vitally important in paleontology and often yield new and exciting results – even if they have been sitting in collections for years. The Victorians were fascinated by the fossil record and prospected all across the UK for fossils,” said Cindy Howells at the National Museum of Wales.
“On top of this, the re-description of Newtonsaurus cambrensis once again highlights the significance of Wales in paleontological research.”
Wales may reveal more dinosaurs
Triassic beds are rare worldwide, yet Wales holds several of them – each with the potential to reveal another hidden dinosaur.
Newtonsaurus is more than a new species. It proves that even old fossils can still surprise us, and that modern tools can finally solve questions that lingered for generations.
The find also reminds us that the cliffs and quarries of Wales may still conceal more giants waiting to emerge.
The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Geologists Association.
Image Credit: Owain Evans
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