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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Tyrannosaurus Rex relative discovered: New dinosaur species identified in Mongolia
A new dinosaur species, related to the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, has been discovered by paleontologists. The fossils, originally found in the 1970s, were recently reanalyzed after Jared Voris, a Ph.D student in the University of Calgary's Department of Earth Energy and Environment, noticed the dinosaur remains during a trip to Mongolia in 2023. The new species has been named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, meaning 'Prince of Dragons of Mongolia." The fossils consisted of two partial skeletons found in Mongolia's Gobi Desert in the 1970s. A Mongolian paleontologist had initially attributed the remains as those of the meat-eating dinosaur Alectrosaurus olseni, Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Science, told ABC News. The fossils had not been "seriously" looked at since then, she noted. She was part of a group that authored a study related the new discovery in the journal Nature. According to ABC News, Jared Voris noticed the fossils in a glass case while on a visit to the Central Museum of Dinosaurs of Mongolia. He realized that the remains had characteristics that were never seen before in a Tyrannosaurus species. The skull contained an air cavity close to the nose. The toe bones were attached to the leg of a predator in a different manner. The results of the study mean that the fossils help fill a gap between the early ancestors of Tyrannosaurus rex and the predators that evolved later. 'They're almost the immediate ancestor of the family that we call tyrannosaurs,' Dr Darla Zelenitsky told the Guardian. The dinosaurs were believed to weigh around 750 kilos. The creature was about four meters in length. According to Voris, if humans had lived at the same time as the dinosaur, they would have been a perfect meal for the Khankhuuluu. As per researchers, the species was related to the Eutyrannosaurias, which originated in North America and included T-rex. The discovery sheds light on Alioramus, a group of small, long-nosed tyrannosaurs also called 'Pinocchio rexes.' Some experts had proposed that the species might sit closer to the ancestors of tyrannosaurs than believed earlier. However, the discovery of the Khankhuuluu has shown this was not the case. The T-Rex was among the biggest predators in North America until 66 million years ago, when an asteroid slammed into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out three-quarters of all life on Earth. It is a new dinosaur species related to the Tyrannosaurus rex. Its name means 'Prince of Dragons of Mongolia'. The dinosaur was an apex predator. Its size, speed and portrayal in films has made it among the most famous dinosaurs of all time. The fossils of the Khankhuuluu mongoliensis were found in Mongolia in the 1970s.
Global News
3 days ago
- Science
- Global News
‘The missing link': Calgary researchers discover new early tyrannosaur species
Scientists from the University of Calgary have discovered a new dinosaur specimen that they say appears to be the 'missing link' in the evolution of tyrannosaurs. The specimen was originally discovered in Mongolia's Gobi Desert over 50 years ago in the 1970s. But its significance wasn't recognized until Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor in the university's faculty of science, sent graduate student Jared Voris to Mongolia on a research trip. 'He was there a couple of years ago on this research trip and looked at the fossil and texted me (that) he thought it was a new species. I was like, 'yay,'' Zelenitsky told The Canadian Press. 'I said, 'This is good, but we don't want to jump the gun on this.' It turned out it (was) a new species.' The species, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis — meaning 'Dragon Prince' or 'Prince of Dragons of Mongolia' — is believed to have crossed via a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska roughly 85 million years ago. Story continues below advertisement Zelenitsky said it appears to sit on the evolutionary scale between smaller tyrannosauroids and tyrannosaurs. 'It's the missing link between smaller tyrannosauroids and the large predatory tyrannosaurs,' she said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'This missing link was around 750 kilograms. Its ancestors were a couple of hundred kilograms and just tiny, but then when you get to tyrannosaurs proper, they were over a thousand kilograms, up to estimates of 5,000 kilograms.' The findings were published Wednesday in the British weekly scientific journal Nature. 'It's really exciting to be involved in a discovery of something that's been sitting in a drawer for 50 years. But it's even more exciting when it's a PhD student that makes that discovery,' Zelenitsky added. 'This discovery forced us to look at the family tree of tyrannosaurs in a very different light. It ended up with us rewriting the family history of tyrannosaurs.' Story continues below advertisement The arrival of Khankhuuluu or a similar species after moving from Asia to North America may have been the result of following their prey to a new location, said Zelenitsky. 'It's possible that there weren't many tyrannosaur type predators so it's possible they were able to take over that niche in North America and moved to the top of the food chain,' she said. 'Tyrannosaurs were in the right place at the right time. It allowed them to diversity and evolve a large body size, ultimately becoming the massive apex predator that terrorized North America and Asia during the late Cretaceous period.' Zelenitsky said the evolution to the tyrannosaur happened rapidly, geologically speaking, and probably took a few million years. She has co-authored over 50 different publications during her career and was part of a team that first found evidence of feathered dinosaurs in North America.
