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"Long
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April 11, 2011
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“Long lost cousin” of T. rex identified
March 31, 2011
Courtesy of University College Dublin
and World
Science staff
Scientists have identified a new species of huge meat-eating dinosaur, which they call a close relative of
the fearsome Tyrannosaur rex, from fossil skull and jaw bones discovered in China. Artist’s impression of
Z. magnus (© Robert Nicholls)
According to a report published online April 1 in the scientific journal
Cretaceous Research, the newly named species Zhuchengtyrannus magnus probably was about 11 metres (12 yards) long, stood some four meters (over four yards) tall, and weighed close to six tons. Comparable in size and scale to the legendary T. rex, whose Latin name means “tyrant lizard king,” the beast is described as one of the largest known members of the theropod dinosaur lineage, which includes
T. rex.
Both reptiles, along with the Asian Tarbosaurus, are also described as members of a specialized group of immense, closely related theropods called tyrannosaurines that stalked North America and eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, from about 99 to 65 million years ago.
“Zhuchengtyrannus can be distinguished from other tyrannosaurines by a combination of unique features in the skull not seen in any other theropod,” said biologist David Hone of University College Dublin, the paper’s lead author. “With only some skull and jaw bones to work with, it is difficult to precisely gauge the overall size of this animal. But the bones we have are just a few
centimetres smaller than the equivalent ones in the largest T. rex specimen. So there is no doubt that
Zhuchengtyrannus was a huge tyrannosaurine.”
The moniker Zhuchengtyrannus magnus means “the ‘Tyrant from Zhucheng’—because the bones were found in the city of Zhucheng, in eastern China’s Shandong Province,” added Hone.
A key member of the international team of scientists involved in the study
was Xu Xing of the Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. He has named more than 30 dinosaurs, making him the world leader in describing new dinosaur species,
according to colleagues.
The tyrannosaurines were huge carnivores with small arms, two-fingered hands, and large powerful jaws that could have delivered a
vicious, bone-crushing bite. They were likely predators and scavengers, according to experts.
Together with nearby sites, the quarry in Shandong Province, eastern China where the new fossils were found contains one of the largest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world, scientists say. Most of the specimens recovered from the quarry belong to a gigantic species of hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur. Research suggests that the area contains so many dinosaur fossils because it was a large flood plain where many dinosaur bodies were washed together during floods and later fossilized.
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Scientists have identified a new species of huge meat-eating dinosaur, which they call a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, from fossil skull and jaw bones discovered in China. According to a report published online April 1 in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research, the newly named species Zhuchengtyrannus magnus probably was about 11 metres (12 yards) long, stood some four meters (over four yards) tall, and weighed close to six tons. Comparable in size and scale to the legendary T. rex, whose Latin name means “tyrant lizard king,” the beast is described as one of the largest known members of the theropod dinosaur lineage, which includes T. rex. Both reptiles, along with the Asian Tarbosaurus, are also described as members of a specialized group of immense, closely related theropods called tyrannosaurines that stalked North America and eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, from about 99 to 65 million years ago. “Zhuchengtyrannus can be distinguished from other tyrannosaurines by a combination of unique features in the skull not seen in any other theropod,” said biologist David Hone of University College Dublin, the paper’s lead author. “With only some skull and jaw bones to work with, it is difficult to precisely gauge the overall size of this animal. But the bones we have are just a few centimetres smaller than the equivalent ones in the largest T. rex specimen. So there is no doubt that Zhuchengtyrannus was a huge tyrannosaurine.” The moniker Zhuchengtyrannus magnus means “the ‘Tyrant from Zhucheng’—because the bones were found in the city of Zhucheng, in eastern China’s Shandong Province,” added Hone. A key member of the international team of scientists involved in the study is Professor Xu Xing of the Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. He has named more than 30 dinosaurs, making him the world leader in describing new dinosaur species, team members said. The tyrannosaurines were huge carnivores characterised by small arms, two-fingered hands, and large powerful jaws that could have delivered a powerful bone-crushing bite. They were likely predators and scavengers, according to experts. Together with nearby sites, the quarry in Shandong Province, eastern China where the new fossils were found contains one of the largest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world, scientists say. Most of the specimens recovered from the quarry belong to a gigantic species of hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur. Research suggests that the area contains so many dinosaur fossils because it was a large flood plain where many dinosaur bodies were washed together during floods and later fossilized.