Irish scientists have identified a new species ofgiant theropod dinosaur, a close relative of thetyrannosaurus rex, from fossilized skull and jaw bones discovered in China. According to the results published in the scientific journalCretaceous Research, the new species, baptizedZhuchengtyrannus magnusIt was about 11 meters long, 4 meters high and weighed about 6 tons.
With himT. rexand theAsia Tarbosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus magnusBelongs togroup of largest carnivorous dinosaurs that ever inhabited the Earth, the tyrannosaurids, which existed in North America and East Asia during theLate Cretaceous, a period that lasted between 95 and 65 million years ago. “Zhuchengtyrannusit can be distinguished from other members of its group by a combination of unique characteristics in the skull that is not seen in other theropods, “explained Dr. David Hone, from the School of Biology and Environmental Sciences at University College Dublin (Ireland). main author of the article.
“With only part of the skull and jaw bones to work with, it is difficult to accurately measure the size of this animal. However, the bones we have are only a few centimeters smaller than the equivalents in the largest sample of T. rex. So there is no doubt that it was aZhuchengtyrannus tyrannosaurinehuge, “says Hone. The researchers named the new genusZhuchengtyrannusbecause the bones were found in the city of Zhucheng, in Shandong, eastern China.
The group of tyrannosaurids (from Latin, “tyrant lizards”), includes large carnivores with huge hind legspowerful jawswith a strong crushing bite, and rather small arms. They were probably predators and scavengers.
