Tyrannosaurus Rex it was the largest and most well-known carnivorous giant lizard. Now scientists have identified another Tyrannosaurus species that appears to be one Tyrannosaurus Rexthe closest known relative.
Sebastian Dalman of the New Mexico Museum of Nature and Science in Albuquerque and his colleagues identified the new species based on a partial skull fossil previously found in New Mexico. They gave the animal a name Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis.
When the fossil was found, it was initially thought to belong Tyrannosaurus Rex‘ile, but Dalman and his colleagues noticed a number of small peculiarities in the shape of the skull bones and the connections between them, which led to the conclusion that it was a different and hitherto unknown species.
Dalman and co-authors write in Scientific Reports Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis it probably lived between 73 and 71 million years ago, so five to seven million years ago Tyrannosaurus RexIt is the moment.
The authors hypothesize that it is a subgroup of the tyrannosaur family Tyrannosaursin which so Tyrannosaurus Rex the nail Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis belong to and developed in the southern regions of modern North America, which during the saurian era were part of the Laramidia continent that extended from Alaska to Mexico.
The authors also propose that the large body growth characteristic of tyrannosaurs evolved TyrannosaursThat’s about 72 million years ago, about the same time as the other southern Laramidian giant lizards, titanosaurs, and hadrosaurs.
Tyrannosaursthey were the apex predators of the entire supercontinent Laurasia at the end of the Cretaceous period, and Tyrannosaurus Rex he was the last and most powerful among them.
Until now it was not known exactly where and when this group of lizards arose. Some researchers have previously proposed the place of origin in western North America, or former Laramidia, while others have suggested present-day Asia.
Tyrannosaurus Rex it could reach 12-13 meters in height and weigh around nine tons. According to Dalman and his colleagues they too had been identified Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis approximately the same size.
Scientific news is broadcast on Vikerradio from Monday to Friday at approximately 8.35am and on Saturday at approximately 8.25am.
2024-01-15 07:10:00
closest-relative-of-tyrannosaurus-rex-found-nature