SALT LAKE CITY (USA): Palaeontologists unveiled on Wednesday a new dinosaur discovered in the US that proves giant tyrant dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex were around 10 million years earlier than previously believed.
A full skeletal replica of the carnivore — the equivalent of the great uncle of the T. rex –was on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah alongside a 3-D model of the head and a large painted mural of the dinosaur roaming a shoreline.
It was the public’s first glimpse of the new species, which researchers named Lythronax argestes. The first part of the name means “king of gore,” and the second part is derived from poet Homer’s southwest wind.
The fossils were found in Utah in November 2009, and a team of palaeontologists spent the past four years digging them up and travelling the world to confirm they were from a new species.
Palaeontologists believe the dinosaur lived 80 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period on a landmass in the flooded central region of North America.
The discovery offers valuable new insight into the evolution of the ferocious tyrannosaurs that have been made famous in movies and captured the awe of school children and adults alike, said Thomas Holtz Jr., a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Maryland department of geology.
“This one is the first example of these kind of dinosaurs being the ruler of the land,” said Holtz, who reviewed the findings. The new dinosaur likely was a bit smaller than the Tyrannosaurus rex but was otherwise similar, said Mark Loewen, a University of Utah palaeontologist who co-authored a journal article about the discovery with fellow University of Utah palaeontologist Randall Irmis.
It was 24 feet long (7.3 meters) and 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall at the hip, and was covered in scales and feathers, Loewen said. Asked what the carnivorous dinosaur ate, Loewen responded: “Whatever it wants.’’
“That skull is designed for grabbing something, shaking it to death and tearing it apart,” he said. The findings are being published in the journal PLOS One. The fossils were found in a Utah rock formation that also has produced the oldest-known triceratops, named “Diabloceratops,” and other dome-headed and armoured dinosaurs.
There are about 1 million acres (0.4 million hectares) of cretaceous rocks that could be holding other new species of dinosaurs, said Titus, the BLM palaeontologist who oversees the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Only about 10 per cent of the rock formation has been scoured, he said. Twelve other new dinosaurs found there are waiting to be named.
“We are just getting started,” Titus said.
Holtz said the finding is a testament to the bounty of fossils lying in the earth in North America. He predicts more discoveries in Utah.
“It shows we don’t have to go to Egypt or Mongolia or China to find new dinosaurs,” Holtz said. “It’s just a matter of getting the field teams out.’’—AP
