Once upon a time, two brothers discovered a dinosaur fossil on a Welsh beach... now it's been named

Two brothers who discovered the fossilised bones of a dinosaur on a Welsh beach have had the reptile named after them.

Dracoraptor hanigani was found by Nick and Rob Hanigan on Lavernock beach near Penarth in 2014. Dracoraptor translates to 'dragon robber.'

The brothers spotted several loose blocks containing part of the skeleton of a small dinosaur after a cliff fall, and collected them. Fossilised bones including its skull, claws and serrated teeth, were spread across five slabs of rock. The dinosaur is now on display in the main hall of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.

Read more: First meat-eating dinosaur fossil found in Wales to be displayed

Amongst the fossilised bones found in the blocks was a tooth. Credit: National Museum of Wales

This new Welsh dinosaur was a distant cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex and lived at the very earliest part of the Jurassic Period around 201 million years ago - possibly making it the oldest Jurassic dinosaur in the world.

Dracoraptor hanigani was a small, slim, agile animal, and was probably only around 70 cm tall and 200 cm long, with a long tail to help it balance.

The brothers made the discovery on Lavernock beach near Penarth in spring 2014. Credit: National Museum of Wales