A team of paleontologists at the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History has identified a new species of tyrannosaurid dinosaur in China. The discovery, detailed in The Journal of Scientific Reports, is based on fossil remains found at a construction site in Ganzhou City in 2017. The remains include a skull, partial vertebra, and tail skeleton.
The newly identified species, named Asiatyrannus xui, is about half the size of the known species Qianzhousaurus. Researchers estimated the dinosaur’s skull to be 47.5 cm long, with an overall length of about 3.5 to 4 meters. During the Late Cretaceous epoch, this new species is believed to have lived about 66 to 72 million years ago.
New tyrannosaurid discovery in China
Asiatyrannus xui is known for its deep snout and distinct body proportions compared to its larger relatives. The research team suggests these differences could mean that A.
xui had a different ecological niche, possibly preying on smaller and faster animals. This discovery is important as it is the first deep-snouted tyrannosaur found in the southern part of China. The location of the find supports theories that tyrannosaurids migrated from Laramidia. This landmass once existed along what is now the west coast of North America, later than previously believed.
Wenjie Zheng led the research, and its findings add to the growing knowledge about tyrannosaurid diversity and migration patterns during the Late Cretaceous period. More information can be found in the original study by Wenjie Zheng et al., “The first deep-snouted tyrannosaur from Upper Cretaceous Ganzhou City of southeastern China,” in Scientific Reports.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
