US EditionScientists Confirm Nanotyrannus as Distinct Species
Analysis of the 'Dueling Dinosaurs' fossil confirms Nanotyrannus as a separate adult species, rewriting decades of Tyrannosaurus rex evolutionary research.
- A complete Dueling Dinosaurs skeleton from Montana confirms Nanotyrannus lancensis is a distinct adult species, not a juvenile T. rex, locked in combat with a Triceratops.
- Decades of fragmentary and skull-only finds left paleontologists debating whether Nanotyrannus specimens were juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex or a distinct species, with previous partial specimens like Jane adding to the uncertainty.
- Using growth rings and spinal fusion data, researchers Zanno and James Napoli show the specimen was about 20 years old and mature, with anatomical features incompatible with T. rex growth.
- The team concludes prior studies conflated two different animals, and Zanno says this rewrites T. rex research, showing predator diversity was higher in the Cretaceous.
- The paper finds Nanotyrannus coexisted with T. rex near the end of the Cretaceous mass extinction around 65 million years ago, identifying two species outside Tyrannosauridae with distinct ecological niches.
141 Articles
141 Articles
The Dueling Dinosaurs Mystery May Have Been Solved — The Baby T. rex Was Instead a Nanotyrannus
Learn how the legendary “Dueling Dinosaurs” fossil revealed that a supposed teenage Tyrannosaurus rex was actually a full-grown Nanotyrannus — changing what we know about tyrant evolution.
Palaeontology breakthrough as scientists reveal new T-Rex cousin species
A new palaeontological breakthrough based on analysis of the “Dueling Dinosaurs” fossil has revealed that the T. rex had a smaller cousin species.The “Dueling Dinosaurs” fossil was unearthed in 2006 and is considered one of the most dramatic discoveries in palaeontology.The fossil features a Triceratops, a tanky horned dinosaur, and a lean, agile carnivorous dinosaur, believed to be a T. rex, engaged in combat.Researchers have long debated wheth…
In 2013, scientists protest against the private auction of an almost complete dinosaur skeleton to study it thoroughly. The results clearly contradict decades of assumptions about the prehistoric hunter Tyrannosaurus rex.
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