Latest news with #Khankhuuluumongoliensis
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover ‘dragon prince' dinosaur, the T. Rex's missing ancestor
Tyrannosaurus rex is a carnivorous icon. Exceeding 40 feet in length and nine tons, the bone-crushing giant stands out as the largest and last of its meat-eating family. Now a new and far smaller tyrannosaur is filling in the famous dinosaur's evolutionary backstory. The newest addition to the tyrannosaur family tree is named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, which translates to 'dragon prince from Mongolia.' Described this week in the journal Nature, the dinosaur has been identified for the first time from two partial skeletons that include skull bones, vertebrae, part of the hips, and limb bones. Altogether, the pieces reveal a slender tyrannosaur that roamed Cretaceous Mongolia about 86 million years ago and was about 13 feet long—or about the size of juvenile T. rex that would stalk North America 20 million years later. In fact, Khankhuuluu even looked like a juvenile of later, larger tyrannosaurs, with round eye sockets, blade-like teeth, and long, shallow jaws better suited to biting fast rather than hard. (T. rex had lips, upending its enduring pop culture image.) Khankhuuluu does more than simply add another dinosaur to the ever-growing roster of dinosaurs. 'Khankhuuluu gives us the origin story of tyrannosaurs,' says University of Calgary paleontologist and study co-author Darla Zelenitsky. In the early 1970s, Mongolian paleontologist Altangerel Perle found a pair of partial tyrannosaur skeletons in the eastern part of the country. The bones seemed similar to a small tyrannosaur that had been named before, Alectrosaurus. But when University of Calgary paleontologist and study co-author Jared Voris studied the bones during a research trip to Mongolia in 2023, he soon realized that the bones did not belong to Alectrosaurus at all. The bones from the two skeletons belonged to a new form of tyrannosaur that had been waiting to be discovered in collections for half a century. 'It had features like a hollow air chamber in side its nasal bone, which no other tyrannosaur species has,' Voris says. The fossils deserved a new name and have been recategorized as Khankhuuluu. Voris has found tyrannosaurs hiding in plain sight before. In 2020, Voris and colleagues named the 80 million-year-old tyrannosaur Thanatotheristes from bones assigned to another species found in Alberta. ("Reaper of Death" tyrannosaur discovered in Canada.) The finds are part of a burgeoning array of tyrannosaur discoveries. Instead of a simple line of evolution from early tyrannosaurs to T. rex, paleontologists have uncovered a wildly branching evolutionary bush of different tyrannosaur subgroups that came and went through the Cretaceous. The glut of new tyrannosaur species is allowing experts to piece together how big tyrannosaurs, including the gigantic T. rex, evolved and spread across vast stretches of the planet. When compared to other tyrannosaurs, the researchers found that Khankhuuluu is a close relative of the broader group of tyrannosaurs that include Gorgosaurus from Alberta, the bumpy-snouted Alioramus from Mongolia, and the iconic T. rex. The new family tree, as well as where the fossils were uncovered, create an updated picture of how tyrannosaurs evolved over 20 million years.'It is a pivotal species in understanding the evolutionary success of T. rex and its relatives,' says University College London paleontologist Cassius Morrison, who was not involved in the new study. In particular, the new analysis reveals how tyrannosaurs evolved into many different species as the carnivores wandered into new around the time of Khankhuuluu, Voris and colleagues propose, such small, slender tyrannosaurs were dispersing from prehistoric Asia into North America over a land bridge. 'Tyrannosaurs evolved into those giant apex predators and diversified very rapidly across North America,' Voris says, the first of what Zelenitsky calls 'two explosions of tyrannosaurs.' Some of the predators remained slender and chased smaller prey while others became bulkier and hunted larger dinosaurs, and they roamed habitats from southern California to New Jersey. (See how these fierce dinos evolved in our pages over 100 years.) The new study suggests, however, that the direct ancestors of T. rex, did not evolve in North America. Voris and colleagues propose that around 79 and 78 million years ago at least one lineage of tyrannosaurs ventured back into Asia. The researchers know this because of the close relationship of two tyrannosaur groups that at a glance might seem very different. When tyrannosaurs returned to Asia during this period and underwent their second explosion, one group was relatively slender and had long snouts decorated with small horns, like the 'Pinocchio' dinosaur Qianzhousaurus. The other group began to grow larger, with deep skulls adept at crushing bones, like Tarbosaurus. T. rex evolved from ancestors in the second group, a lineage of bone-crushers that once again crossed the land bridge back into North America between 73 and 67 million years ago—making T. rex a new form of predator that arrived from another continent. 'The new analysis provides strong support that the ancestors of T. rex evolved from a group of tyrannosaurs that ventured back to Asia after they had undergone an evolutionary radiation in North America,' Morrison says. Ultimately, the study suggests that the rise of one of Earth's largest carnivores was due to a back-and-forth between North America and Asia that took place over a period of 20 million years. Had a devastating asteroid impact not abruptly ended the Cretaceous 66 million years ago, tyrannosaurs would have undoubtedly kept changing.
National Geographic
19 hours ago
- Science
- National Geographic
Scientists discover ‘dragon prince' dinosaur, the T. Rex's missing ancestor
Khankhuuluu mongoliensis was slender with features like no other member of the tyrannosaur family tree. This illustration depicts how the slender Khankhuuluu mongoliensis may have appeared as it roamed Mongolia during the Cretaceous period. The newest addition to the tyrannosaur family, the discovery of this "dragon prince from Mongolia" sheds light on the origins of Tyrannosaurus rex. Illustration by Julius Csotonyi Tyrannosaurus rex is a carnivorous icon. Exceeding 40 feet in length and nine tons, the bone-crushing giant stands out as the largest and last of its meat-eating family. Now a new and far smaller tyrannosaur is filling in the famous dinosaur's evolutionary backstory. The newest addition to the tyrannosaur family tree is named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, which translates to 'dragon prince from Mongolia.' Described this week in the journal Nature, the dinosaur has been identified for the first time from two partial skeletons that include skull bones, vertebrae, part of the hips, and limb bones. Altogether, the pieces reveal a slender tyrannosaur that roamed Cretaceous Mongolia about 86 million years ago and was about 13 feet long—or about the size of juvenile T. rex that would stalk North America 20 million years later. In fact, Khankhuuluu even looked like a juvenile of later, larger tyrannosaurs, with round eye sockets, blade-like teeth, and long, shallow jaws better suited to biting fast rather than hard. (T. rex had lips, upending its enduring pop culture image.) Khankhuuluu does more than simply add another dinosaur to the ever-growing roster of dinosaurs. 'Khankhuuluu gives us the origin story of tyrannosaurs,' says University of Calgary paleontologist and study co-author Darla Zelenitsky. Comparing the fossils of mature Khankhuuluu (a, d, g) with fossils of mature Gorgosaurus (c, f, i) and juvenile Gorgosaurus (b, e, h) provides new insights into the evolutionary lineage between the smaller-bodied tyrannosauroids, such as Khankhuuluu, and the larger eutyrannosaurians like Gorgosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Silhouettes compare the sizes of Khankhuuluu (left) with a juvenile (right) and adult (middle) Gorgosaurus. Scale bars, 5 cm (individual elements) and 1 m (silhouette). Illustration by Voris et al. (2025), Nature In the early 1970s, Mongolian paleontologist Altangerel Perle found a pair of partial tyrannosaur skeletons in the eastern part of the country. The bones seemed similar to a small tyrannosaur that had been named before, Alectrosaurus. But when University of Calgary paleontologist and study co-author Jared Voris studied the bones during a research trip to Mongolia in 2023, he soon realized that the bones did not belong to Alectrosaurus at all. The bones from the two skeletons belonged to a new form of tyrannosaur that had been waiting to be discovered in collections for half a century. 'It had features like a hollow air chamber in side its nasal bone, which no other tyrannosaur species has,' Voris says. The fossils deserved a new name and have been recategorized as Khankhuuluu. Voris has found tyrannosaurs hiding in plain sight before. In 2020, Voris and colleagues named the 80 million-year-old tyrannosaur Thanatotheristes from bones assigned to another species found in Alberta. ("Reaper of Death" tyrannosaur discovered in Canada.) The finds are part of a burgeoning array of tyrannosaur discoveries. Instead of a simple line of evolution from early tyrannosaurs to T. rex, paleontologists have uncovered a wildly branching evolutionary bush of different tyrannosaur subgroups that came and went through the Cretaceous. The glut of new tyrannosaur species is allowing experts to piece together how big tyrannosaurs, including the gigantic T. rex, evolved and spread across vast stretches of the planet. What the 'dragon prince' tells us about the evolution of T. rex When compared to other tyrannosaurs, the researchers found that Khankhuuluu is a close relative of the broader group of tyrannosaurs that include Gorgosaurus from Alberta, the bumpy-snouted Alioramus from Mongolia, and the iconic T. rex. The new family tree, as well as where the fossils were uncovered, create an updated picture of how tyrannosaurs evolved over 20 million years. 'It is a pivotal species in understanding the evolutionary success of T. rex and its relatives,' says University College London paleontologist Cassius Morrison, who was not involved in the new study. In particular, the new analysis reveals how tyrannosaurs evolved into many different species as the carnivores wandered into new landscapes. Sometime around the time of Khankhuuluu, Voris and colleagues propose, such small, slender tyrannosaurs were dispersing from prehistoric Asia into North America over a land bridge. 'Tyrannosaurs evolved into those giant apex predators and diversified very rapidly across North America,' Voris says, the first of what Zelenitsky calls 'two explosions of tyrannosaurs.' Some of the predators remained slender and chased smaller prey while others became bulkier and hunted larger dinosaurs, and they roamed habitats from southern California to New Jersey. (See how these fierce dinos evolved in our pages over 100 years.) The new study suggests, however, that the direct ancestors of T. rex, did not evolve in North America. Voris and colleagues propose that around 79 and 78 million years ago at least one lineage of tyrannosaurs ventured back into Asia. The researchers know this because of the close relationship of two tyrannosaur groups that at a glance might seem very different. When tyrannosaurs returned to Asia during this period and underwent their second explosion, one group was relatively slender and had long snouts decorated with small horns, like the 'Pinocchio' dinosaur Qianzhousaurus. The other group began to grow larger, with deep skulls adept at crushing bones, like Tarbosaurus. T. rex evolved from ancestors in the second group, a lineage of bone-crushers that once again crossed the land bridge back into North America between 73 and 67 million years ago—making T. rex a new form of predator that arrived from another continent. 'The new analysis provides strong support that the ancestors of T. rex evolved from a group of tyrannosaurs that ventured back to Asia after they had undergone an evolutionary radiation in North America,' Morrison says. Ultimately, the study suggests that the rise of one of Earth's largest carnivores was due to a back-and-forth between North America and Asia that took place over a period of 20 million years. Had a devastating asteroid impact not abruptly ended the Cretaceous 66 million years ago, tyrannosaurs would have undoubtedly kept changing.
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Science
- Daily Tribune
New T-Rex ancestor discovered in drawers of Mongolian institute
AFP | Paris Misidentified bones that languished in the drawers of a Mongolian institute for 50 years belong to a new species of tyrannosaur that rewrites the family history of the mighty T-Rex, scientists said yesterday. This slender ancestor of the massive Tyrannosauru s Rex was around four metres (13 feet) long and weighed three quarters of a tonne, according to a new study in the journal Nature. 'It would have been the size of a very large horse,' study co-author Darla Zelenitsky of Canada's University of Calgary told AFP. 1970s The fossils were first dug up in southeastern Mongolia in the early 1970s but at the time were identified as belonging to a different tyrannosaur, Alectrosaurus. For half a century, the fossils sat in the drawers at the Institute of Paleontology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in the capital Ulaanbaatar. Then PhD student Jared Voris, who was on a trip to Mongolia, started looking through the drawers and noticed something was wrong, Zelenitsky said. It turned out the fossils were well-preserved, partial skeletons of two different individuals of a completely new species. 'It is quite possible that discoveries like this are sitting in other museums that just have not been recognised,' Zelenitsky added. 'Messy' family history They named the new species Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, which roughly means the dragon prince of Mongolia because it is smaller than the 'king' T-Rex. Zelenitsky said the discovery 'helped us clarify a lot about the family history of the tyrannosaur group because it was really messy previously'. The T-Rex represented the end of the family line. It was the apex predator in North America until 66 million years ago, when an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest slammed into the Gulf of Mexico. Three quarters of life on Earth was wiped out, including all the dinosaurs that did not evolve into birds. Around 20 million years earlier, Khankhuuluu -- or another closely related family member -- is now believed to have migrated from Asia to North America using the land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska. North America This led to tyrannosaurs evolving across North America. Then one of these species is thought to have crossed back over to Asia, where two tyrannosaur subgroups emerged. One was much smaller, weighing under a tonne, and was nicknamed Pinocchio rex for its long snout. The other subgroup was huge and included behemoths like the Tarbosaurus, which was only a little smaller than the T-rex. One of the gigantic dinosaurs then left Asia again for North America, eventually giving rise to the T-Rex, which dominated for just two million years -- until the asteroid struck.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
New dinosaur species, the 'Dragon Prince', discovered — what did it look like?
Representational image Hold onto your fossil hats, dinosaur lovers—there's a new prehistoric rockstar in town, and it goes by a name that sounds like it just flew out of a fantasy novel. Say hello to Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, nicknamed the 'Dragon Prince. ' And yes, it's just as cool as it sounds. The findings have been published in Nature . So, what exactly is Khankhuuluu? This ancient predator stomped around what's now Mongolia about 86 million years ago, way before the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex came on the scene. Khankhuuluu was no tiny lizard—but it definitely wasn't the hulking beast T. rex turned out to be. Think of it as the lean, speedy older cousin that paved the way for future dinosaur royalty. It weighed 750 kilos. The wild part? Scientists actually found Khankhuuluu's fossils back in the 1970s, but they thought it was part of a different species. Fast forward a few decades and some super high-tech scans later, and—boom!—turns out we've had a brand-new species hiding in plain sight this whole time. Talk about a plot twist in the fossil record. What did it look like? Unlike the bulky, bone-crushing T. rex, Khankhuuluu was all about agility. It had a slim build, long legs made for sprinting, and a narrow snout packed with sharp teeth—perfect for snapping up smaller prey like oviraptorosaurs and ornithomimosaurs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Men Over 50: Frequent Urination & Weak Stream? Do this Before Bed healthydayscare Click Here Undo Picture a fast, fierce dino ninja with a serious attitude. "'Prince' refers to this being an early, smaller tyrannosauroid," explained Prof Darla Zelenitsky, a palaeontologist from the University of Calgary in Canada told BBC. Tyrannosauroids are the superfamily of carnivorous dinosaurs that walked on two legs. "They were these really small, fleet-footed predators that lived in the shadows of other apex predatory dinosaurs," PhD student Jared Voris, who led the research with Prof Zelenitsky, told the media. They added that Khankhuuluu probably weighed around 750 kilos (about 1,650 pounds). Not bad for an early tyrannosaur, right? A dino with a passport? Besides being a missing puzzle piece in the tyrannosaur family tree, Khankhuuluu is also helping scientists figure out where these dinos came from and how they moved around. The new theory? Tyrannosaurs may have started in Asia, made their way to North America, and then boomeranged back to Asia. This epic dino road trip might explain the range of species we've dug up across continents. Why this matters The discovery of the 'Dragon Prince' is more than just another cool name—it's a reminder that our planet's past is full of surprises waiting to be uncovered. Every fossil, every re-examined bone, tells a deeper story about where life came from and how it evolved. So next time someone mentions the mighty T. rex, throw a little respect to its slimmer, faster, older cousin—Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, the prehistoric royalty that sprinted so the king could roar.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
New Tyrannosaur species reshapes T. rex family tree
A newly identified dinosaur species from Mongolia is rewriting the history of the T. rex family tree. Dubbed the 'Dragon Prince' (scientifically named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis), this prehistoric predator lived about 86 million years ago and is believed to be a key ancestor of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. For decades, fossils of this dinosaur sat largely overlooked in museum collections, misidentified as a known species called Alectrosaurus. But recent re-examination by researchers revealed that the fossils represent a completely new species — one that provides a vital missing link between smaller early tyrannosaurs and the massive apex predators that later dominated Earth. At about 13 feet long and weighing about 1,650 pounds, the Dragon Prince was much smaller than later tyrannosaurs like T. rex, which could grow up to 41 feet long and weigh more than 23,000 pounds. It had a smaller head and longer arms compared to its gigantic descendants, meaning it may have occupied an in-between evolutionary phase. Scientists say the discovery fills a crucial gap in understanding how tyrannosaurs evolved from modest-sized hunters to colossal rulers of their ecosystems. Paleontologists believe the Dragon Prince primarily hunted prey smaller than itself, unlike later giants that tackled enormous herbivores. Beyond its size and anatomy, experts say the find offers fresh insights into tyrannosaur migration patterns. Research shows that around 85 million years ago, a species closely related to K. mongoliensis migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge near today's Bering Strait. This migration likely gave rise to the first true tyrannosaurs in North America, which went on to become dominant predators of the Late Cretaceous period. Later migrations back and forth between Asia and North America helped shape tyrannosaur diversity, producing both massive species like Tarbosaurus bataar and smaller, slimmer ones like Qianzhousaurus sinensis, nicknamed 'Pinocchio rex.' About 68 million years ago, one giant tyrannosaur species likely migrated back to North America and evolved into T. rex. This discovery, published in Nature, highlights how migration events fueled tyrannosaur evolution and offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex family tree of these iconic dinosaurs — the princes before they became kings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
