Khankhuuluu forms the ‘missing link’ between the smaller earlier tyrannosaurs and massive apex predators such as the T-rex, scientists say.
Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaurs in Mongolia, which they believe is an ancestor of the famous tyrannosaurus rex.
In a study published in Nature earlier this week, researchers identified that khankhuuluu mongoliensis – meaning ‘Dragon Prince of Mongolia’ – roamed Earth during the Cretaceous period around 86m years ago.
Its fossils were first discovered back in the 1970s in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, but were reanalysed recently by one of the researchers behind the study, Jared Voris, a PhD researcher in the Department of Earth Energy and Environment at the University of Calgary.
The specimens are estimated to have been likely around 750kg and 4m long. A tyrannosaurus rex, in comparson, is generally estimated to have weighed around 5,000 to 7,000kg and up to 13m long.
Speaking with several news outlets, Dr Darla Zelenitsky, one of the lead researchers behind the study, said that khankhuuluu, a smaller-bodied ancestor of the T-rex, forms the “missing link” between the smaller tyrannosaurs and massive apex predators like the T-rex, which roamed the Earth in the later Cretaceous period.
These species are both tyrannosauroids, the family of bi-pedal carnivorous dinosaurs, which we most associate with a dinosaur (thanks Jurassic Park!).
It was initially thought that this new species related to a carnivorous dinosaur called electrosaurus. But with this new examination, the researchers discovered that its features were different.
“We see features in its nasal bone that eventually gave tyrannosaurs those very powerful bite forces,” Voris told the BBC. The new species shows other early evolutionary stages of features we now associate with the T-rex, including the skull anatomy that lead to such a strong jaw.
Voris told the publication that this newly discovered species is a missing link between the first tyrannosauroids that were very small and lived in the shadows of apex predators, and their giant descendants including T-rex.
“This is a transitional [species] … between earlier ancestors and the mighty tyrannosaurs,” Zelenitsky said.
She said that the discovery helped them revise the tyrannosaur family tree, shedding new light on the evolution of the dinosaurs.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
