Scientists have discovered a new type of dinosaur. Tyrannosaurus mcraensis is an ancestor of the famous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex, but it was larger than its famous descendant. According to scientists, the newly discovered dinosaur was the best hunter of its time.
In 1983, scientists found a partial Tyrannosaurus skull in the McRae Formation in the US state of New Mexico. The new species is named after its location.
The skull resembled that of a Tyrannosaurus rex, but was so different that paleontologists actually thought it was a different species. More than forty years later, they got confirmation of this, writing in the scientific journal nature.
The skull turned out to be very old for a Tyrannosaurus rex. The fearsome hunter-gatherer lived about 66 to 68 million years ago. The skull that was found belonged to a dinosaur that lived about five to seven million years ago.
The new species was larger than Tyrannosaurus rex, but was just as dangerous
Compared to Tyrannosaurus rex, the skull found had a more curved lower jaw. In addition, dinosaurs had fewer eyebrows.
According to scientists, the differences suggest that Almicrinsis ate and hunted differently than Rex, but was just as fearful of it. “If they had lived at the same time, they would have been evenly matched,” lead researcher Nick Longrich said.
The size of the skull also indicates that Macrinsis was larger than its descendant Rex, which could have reached around twelve metres. It is not known exactly how large a mekrensis could grow, because no complete skeleton has been found yet.
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