A team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and the University of Edinburgh (UK) has discovered a new species of dinosaur named “Pinocchio Rex” .
The "Pinocchio Rex" or Qianzhousaurus sinensis , has been nicknamed with this name due to both its kinship with the Tyrannosaurus rex and its huge elongated snout . Their well-preserved remains have been discovered in southern China.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications , explains that this animal was a fearsome carnivore that would have lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous more than 66 million years ago . Its physical characteristics were highlighted by an elongated skull, very powerful jaws and teeth much thicker and more powerful than those of its cousins, the Tyrannosaurus rex . The researchers also claim that this tyrannosaurus was probably very fast and stealthy .
“The new discovery is very important, together with Alioramus from Mongolia, as it shows that long-beaked tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia. Although we are beginning to know them, these tyrannosaurs were, apparently, one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia ”, says Junchang Lü, co-author of the study.
