T-rex Mystery Solved

A newly discovered species of Tyrannosaur could hold the answer as to how T-rex grew so huge.

17:07 16 March 2016

Fossils of newly discovered species of Tyrannosaur could hold the key to how a group of meat-eating dinosaurs to which the infamous T-rex belongs, grew so huge, researchers have claimed.

 

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, along with US and Russian colleagues, named the species Timurlengia.

 

Lead researcher Dr Stephen Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, said: "We have a totally new species of dinosaur," 

 

"It's one of the very closest cousins of T. rex, but a lot smaller - about the size of a horse.

"And it comes from the middle part of the Cretaceous period - a point where we have a huge gap in the fossil record."

 

"It has features of its bones that are also found in T. rex," said Dr Brusatte. "So this is evolving features that would eventually allow T. rex to become this super-dominant top-of-the-food-chain animal."

 

"Its brain and ear - which we can tell from CT scans - were almost identical to T. rex.”

Dr Bill Sellers from the University of Manchester added: "It shows us that relatively big brains and keen senses evolved early in the history of this group of dinosaurs and may have been what allowed tyrannosaurs to become such successful predators."