Odd parrot-beaked dinosaurs called oviraptors roamed England as well as Asia
and North America.
The best-known oviraptors were found on top of their nests in Mongolia. With
toothless beaks, short tails, clawed wing-like arms and feathers, they were
closely related to both birds and predatory two-legged dinosaurs.
None had been found in Europe until Darren Naish spotted a specimen, called
Thecocoelurus, in the basement of London鈥檚 Natural History Museum (
Proceedings of the Geologists鈥� Association, vol 113, p. 23). First
discovered sometime before 1882, it lay unidentified until recently, when Naish
recognised its uniquely shaped neck bone. Originally found in the Isle of Wight,
the 5-metre fossil was nearly twice the size of a typical oviraptor.
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