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Paleontologists have uncovered a never - before - realize tyrannosaur coinage in North America that has been masquerade as aTyrannosaurus rexfor 10 . The newly identified specie is the closest known relative ofT. rexand could have been even larger than the dinosaur king , a unexampled field of study shows .
The newfound sister species , Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis , was identified from a partial fossilized skull that paleontologists unearthed in 1983 while research the Hall Lake Formation in New Mexico . The calcified cranium was in the first place assort as aT. rexskull and has been exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science ( NMMNHS ) ever since . But in 2013 , a squad of paleontologists decided to reevaluate the skull after noticing subtle yet untrusting anomalies in its shape .
The newfound species, Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, was around the same size as T. rex and could have been even larger.
In a new study published Thursday ( Jan. 11 ) in the journalScientific Reports , the team revealed that the skull date to between 73 million and 71 million years ago during theCretaceous period(145 million to 66 million age ago ) . This makesT. mcraeensisbetween 3 million and 5 million years older thanT. rex .
The stark age deviation was the main giveaway that they had discovered a new species . But there were also major structural differences that standT. mcraeensisapart from the notorious dinosaur Billie Jean King .
" The most salient difference is the shape of the lower jaw , which is more slender and curved [ thanT.rex ] , " study co - authorNick Longrich , a paleontologist at the University of Bath in the U.K. , differentiate Live Science . " It also lack the prominent boss or hornlets line up over the top of the eyes inT. rex . "
The newly identified species is the closest known relative ofT. rex, researchers claim.
T. mcraeensisalso has fewer tooth than most other tyrannosaurs , which is one of the master reasons why the research worker conceive it isT. rex ’s closest relative — becauseT. rexalso has few tooth , Longrich tell .
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The size of the skull suggests this particularT. mcraeensiswas around the same size of it as a distinctive adultT. rex , which mature to around 39 feet ( 12 m ) long — around the same size of it as a double - decker bus . But other individuals of the same species may have been even prominent .
T. mcraensiswould have roamed Laramidia, an ancient landmass that covered the West Coast of what is now North America.
" It ’s not unsufferable " thatT. mcraeensiscould have been even large thanT. rex , Longrich say . " Since we only have one individual , it ’s improbable we ’ve found the large individuals of the species . "
T. mcraeensiswas probable the apex predator of its time , just likeT. rex , Longrich said . And if the pair had exist at the same time , they would have " believably been pretty evenly matched " in a fight , he added .
T. male monarch and most other tyrannosaur dwell exclusively on an ancient landmass known as Laramidia , which was made up of what is now the western coast of North America from Alaska down to Mexico .
Until now , T. king ’s stuffy relatives were a twain of tyrannosaur namedTarbosaurus bataarandZhuchengtyrannus magnus , which are find in modern - dayChinaand Mongolia . Both species date back further thanT. rex , which suggest tyrannosaurs may havefirst emerged in what is now Asia , although this has never been confirmed .
The new finding suggest that Laramidia is a more likely stemma of the tyrannosaur lineage , which would imply that these dinosaur afterward spread to Asia . However , there is still uncertainty around this .
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Laramidia was home to a wide variety of dinosaur specie , include several other recent discoveries , such asSierraceratops turneri — a tusk herbivore exchangeable toTriceratopsthat was described in a2022 paperand was also antecedently misidentified as a different dinosaur specie .
The new findings are further grounds that New Mexico is one of the good places in the world to search for new dinosaur mintage , study co - authorSpencer Lucas , the curator of geology and palaeontology at NMMNHS , said in a program line post to last Science . " Many new dinosaurs remain to be discovered in the state , both in the rocks and in museum drawers , " he added .
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