Riparovenator milnerae means “Milner’s riverbank hunter” in tribute to U.K. Scientists gave them names to match: Ceratosuchops inferodios roughly translates to “horned, crocodile-faced hell heron,” drawing inspiration from proposals that spinosaurids were riverbank predators like today’s herons. Each was about 26 feet long, snout to tail, and roughly 6.6 feet tall at the hip. Based on the proportions of close cousins, the two dinosaurs would have been intimidating to behold. But more than 125 million years ago, this vista was a savanna -like valley cut through with rivers and floodplains-a fitting home for two new hulking dinosaurs with sleek, crocodile-like skulls.ĭescribed in the journal Scientific Reports, fossils found on the island belong to two new types of spinosaurid, an enigmatic group of large predatory dinosaurs famed for their croc-like appearance.

Today, the southwestern coast of the U.K.’s Isle of Wight is a picturesque seascape framed by sandstone cliffs.