Newly-Found T. Rex Ancestor Had Spiked Horns Around Its Eyes
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The Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) was one of the most ferocious dinosaurs that roamed Earth in the very late Cretaceous period — about 66 million years ago. Over the years, scientists have collected substantial information on the tiny-armed reptile itself. However, very little is known about how the vicious predator evolved. Now paleontologists at the Badlands Dinosaur Museum in North Dakota believe they may have found an essential missing link to the T. rex's lineage.
Museum crew member Jack Wilson first stumbled upon the dinosaur's nostril sticking out from a cliff in northeastern Montana in 2017. The team was easily able to unearth an upper jaw bone and several broken vertebrae. But removing the rest of the fossils proved challenging. They were buried under 26 feet (8 meters) of solid rock. It was not until 2021 that the scientists were able to extract all the preserved remains, including a partial skull.
But the effort was well worth it. The fossils were those of a new dinosaur species that roamed Earth over 76 million years ago. The creature, named Daspletosaurus wilsoni (D. wilsoni) or "Wilson's frightful reptile," had mixed features. The spiked horns around its eyes were similar to those found in more primitive Tyrannosauruses. However, the dinosaur's tall eye socket and air pockets in the skull resembled those found in later Tyrannosauruses such as the T. rex. This led the scientists to conclude that the D. wilsoni was a "halfway point" or the "missing link"' between older and younger Tyrannosaur species.
Resources: cosmosmagazine.com, Livescience.com, phys.com, popularscience.com, phys.com
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142 Comments
donke67about 2 yearsAWESOMR!!
xroabout 2 yearscool
anabelle4526about 2 yearswow soooooooo cooooolllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
reaperkodyabout 2 yearsI thought they found an actual Hyperendocrin Rex/Hypo Rex Skull which would have been cooler
happypandagal1about 2 yearsWow SOOOOO COOL!!!!!
rosie23about 2 yearsCool!!
sael1about 2 yearsthe dinosaurs reading this: 💀- abcdefg123about 2 yearsI think it is so amazing to be alive right now with all the amazon things that the team discovered. I would love to fund your next project with all my piggy bank money which comes to a total of $1.45 I think it will get you pretty far. this is going to be so cool to have donated if you have no ideas about what to do next I have come here they are how much food a dog eats a second why we blink how monkeys drink and that is not all but I don't want to give them all to you I need to save some for the BBC.
- sael1about 2 yearsbro i hate when that happens
- kingexcellentabout 2 yearsi dont like that cuz that means the dinos are coming back
- donke67about 2 yearsNo,I think it doesn't
aidenf12916about 2 yearsi like turtles
