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Scientists have identified previously unknown species of 86 million dinosaur, which fill the early gap by fossil records, revealing how they evolved into massive apex predators.
Researchers analyzing the remains of species called it Khankhuulu Mongoliensis, which means “the Prince of the Mongolian Dragon” because he was small compared to much more relatives such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, whose name means “king of the tyrant lizard”. According to the findings published on Wednesday, the newly identified dinosaur was the nearest known ancestor of Tyonaurus and probably served as a transitional species of earlier tyranaid species.
According to the two partial skeletons uncovered in the Mongolian desert in 1972 and 1973, they performed in a new study, showing that three high migrations between Asia and North America have encouraged tyranauroids to diversify and finally achieve a great size in the late chalk period 66 million years ago.
“This discovery of Khankhuuluu made us look at the tree of the Tyrannosaur family in a very different light,” said the researcher Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor at the Department of Land, Energy and Environment at Calgary University. “Before that, there was a lot of confusion about what was related to what was talking about the types of tyranaur. What began as a new type of discovery ended that I rewrote the tyrant family history.”
Khankhuluu fossils are placed on dinosaur skull illustrations. – Jared Voris
Numerous migrations over millions of years
Tyrannosaurs, scientifically known as the Eutyrannosaurians, are remembered that dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Tarbosaurus, which weighed many metric tones and could lower the equally large prey.
With short hands and massive heads, they walked on two legs and boiled with sharp teeth, Zelenitsky said.
However, Tyrannosaurs did not start as follows. They evolved from smaller dinosaurs before dominating North American and Asian landscapes 85-66 million years ago, researchers said.
Although Tarbosaurus, T. Rexo’s ancestor, clock between 3,000 to 6,000 kilograms (£ 6,613 and £ 13.227), Khankhuuluu Mongoliensis was likely to weigh about 750 kilograms (£ 1,653), just 2 meters (6.5 feet) and 60 feet later (1,653) and after 60 feet) (£ 1,653), acne only 2 meters (6.5 feet), and after 60 feet) (1,653 pounds), just 2 meters (6.5 feet). According to the authors of the study.
On the screen you can see a skeleton of a giant Tarbosaurus. – Darla Zelenitsky
Compared to two dinosaurs, it would be like building a horse near the elephant – Khankhuuluu would have reached T. Rex’s thigh, Zelenitsky said.
“Khankhuuluu was almost a tyranaur, but not quite,” Zelenitsky said. “Snout bone was hollow, not sturdy, and the bones around the eyes did not have all the horns and bumps visible in T. Rex or other tyranauros.”
Khankhuuluu Mongoliensis or closely related ancestral species, probably migrating from Asia to North America through the Land bridge between Alaska and Siberia, which connected continents 85 million years ago, said Zelenitsky.
Because of these species of migrants, we now know that tyranauros actually developed into the North American continent and remained there in the next few million years, she said. “Many species of tyranauros have evolved on the continent and have become increasingly larger.”
Poor fossil records are unclear what has been revealed in Asia 80 million to 85 million years ago, she added. Although some Khankhuuluu may have stayed in Asia, they were probably replaced by larger tyranauros 79 million years ago.
Meanwhile, another species of tyranaurus crossed the land bridge back to Asia 78 million years ago, resulting in two associated but very different tyrant subgroups, Zelenitsky said. One was a giant, deeply hidden species, while the other, known as aliramines, was slender and small. These smaller dinosaurs were called Pinocchio Rexes for long, shallow muzzles.
Both types of tyranauros could live in Asia and not compete with each other, as larger dinosaurs were the best predators, and both of the two-level predators passing after a lower prey-think about cheetahs or branches in African ecosystems, said Zelenitsky.
Alicamus was a small Mongolian tyranaurus, once called “Pinocio Rex” its long muzzle. – Jared Voris
“Due to the small size, both tirans have been primitive for a long time, but we have newly demonstrated both for uniquely developed minorities because they were a” miniature “of their body in the Tyrannosaur family tree, all of which were giants,” said Zelenitsky.
Another migration occurred when Tyonauros continued to develop, and the giant species of tyranauros that moved back to North America 68 million years ago, resulting in Tyrannosaurus Rex, Zelenitsky said.
“The success and diversity of the Tyrannosaurus is due to several migrations between two continents, starting with Khankhuuluu,” she said. “Tyrannosaurs were at the right place at the right time. They could take advantage of the movement between continents, most likely to face open niches and quickly developed to become large, effective killing machines.”
View a decades -old find
New conclusions confirm previous studies to claim that the direct ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared in Asia and moved through the Earth bridge to North America and emphasizes the importance of Asia at the Tyrannosaur family’s evolutionary success in the University College. Morrison did not participate in new studies.
“The new species provide essential data and information in part of the family tree with few species, which helps us understand the evolutionary transition of tyrantaur from small/ medium predators to large predators,” Morrison wrote. In the letter.
The main author of the study, Jared Voris, a researcher at the Podoctoral Postpoints of Calgary University, can be seen in the study of Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil as a collected copy machine. – Darla Zelenitsky
The study also shows that the aliramini group, once considered distant relatives, were very close to T. Rex’s cousins.
The new kind of fossils are so important in their age – 20 million years older than T. Rex, said Steve Brusatt, Professor and Personal Paleontology and Evolution at Edinburgh University. BRUSATTE did not participate in a new study.
“Since then, there are so few fossils, so these scientists describe it as ‘gloom,'” said Brusattte. “It was a disruptive recording gap, for example, if something really important happened in your family history, for example, a marriage that started a new family or immigration to a new country, but you had no records of how to document it. The Tyrannosaur family tree
With only fragments of the available fossils, it was difficult to understand the variations of tyranauric tyrants as they evolved, said Thomas Carr, Associate Professor at the Carthage College of Carthage and Director of the Carthage Institute. Carr did not participate in new research. But the new study shows the diversity of dinosaur and explains which of them exists when and how they coincided with each other, he said.
More examples of fossil records will be given by additional clarity, but the new work shows the importance of re -examination of the previously collected fossils.
Voris (left) and Darla Zelenitsky investigated the evolution of the Tyrannosaurus. – Riley Brandt/Calgary University
“Now we know much more about tyranaurus,” Carr said. “Many of these historical specimens are definitely worth the gold for the second glance.”
When the fossils were collected half a century ago, they were briefly described at the time, said Brusattte.
“So much of our Paleontology community knew that this Mongolian fossil lies in the museum’s drawers while waiting for proper exploration to be properly explored, and to tell its important part of Tyrannosaur,” he said.
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