microrobert
05-11-2014, 03:11 PM
Pinocchio rex: new dinosaur species discovered in China
Near-complete skeleton of long-snouted tyrannosaur found by workmen on a construction site near Ganzhou
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/5/7/1399458605678/Pinocchio-rex-skull-006.jpg
The skull of the Qianzhousaurus sinensis, or Pinocchio rex.
Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that belonged to the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex.
The remains of the long-snouted tyrannosaur, formally named Qianzhousaurus sinensis and nicknamed Pinocchio rex, were found near the city of Ganzhou in southern China (http://www.theguardian.com/world/china). Researchers believe the animal was a fearsome carnivore that lived more than 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period.
The bones were discovered on a construction site by workmen who took them to a local museum. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and the University of Edinburgh then became involved in examining the remains.
With an elongated skull and long, narrow teeth, the predator would have looked very different from a T rex, which had thick teeth and more powerful jaws.
Palaeontologists had been uncertain about the existence of long-snouted tyrannosaurs. Previously, just two fossilised tyrannosaurs with elongated heads had been found, and since they were juveniles it was unclear whether they were from a new class of dinosaur or simply at an early growth stage.
It is thought that Qianzhousaurus sinensis lived alongside other tyrannosaurs but would not have been in direct competition with them, since they probably hunted different prey.
Experts at the University of Edinburgh said the new specimen was of an animal nearing adulthood. It was found largely intact and "remarkably well preserved".
One of the authors of the study, Dr Steve Brusatte of the university's school of geosciences, said: "This is a different breed of tyrannosaur. It has the familiar toothy grin of T rex, but its snout was much longer and it had a row of horns on its nose. It might have looked a little comical, but it would have been as deadly as any other tyrannosaur, and maybe even a little faster and stealthier."
He added: "It is an awesome specimen, almost a complete skeleton. It is a really one-in-a-million find that those workers made."
Following the discovery, which is reported in Nature Communications, researchers have created a new branch of the tyrannosaur family for specimens with very long snouts, and they expect more dinosaurs (http://www.theguardian.com/science/dinosaurs) to be added to the group as excavations in Asia continue to identify new species.
Professor Junchang Lu, of the institute of geology at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, said: "The new discovery is very important. Along with alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia.
"Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia."
Pinocchio rex: new dinosaur species discovered in China | Science | theguardian.com (http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/07/pinocchio-rex-new-species-dinosaur-china)
Near-complete skeleton of long-snouted tyrannosaur found by workmen on a construction site near Ganzhou
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/5/7/1399458605678/Pinocchio-rex-skull-006.jpg
The skull of the Qianzhousaurus sinensis, or Pinocchio rex.
Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that belonged to the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex.
The remains of the long-snouted tyrannosaur, formally named Qianzhousaurus sinensis and nicknamed Pinocchio rex, were found near the city of Ganzhou in southern China (http://www.theguardian.com/world/china). Researchers believe the animal was a fearsome carnivore that lived more than 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period.
The bones were discovered on a construction site by workmen who took them to a local museum. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and the University of Edinburgh then became involved in examining the remains.
With an elongated skull and long, narrow teeth, the predator would have looked very different from a T rex, which had thick teeth and more powerful jaws.
Palaeontologists had been uncertain about the existence of long-snouted tyrannosaurs. Previously, just two fossilised tyrannosaurs with elongated heads had been found, and since they were juveniles it was unclear whether they were from a new class of dinosaur or simply at an early growth stage.
It is thought that Qianzhousaurus sinensis lived alongside other tyrannosaurs but would not have been in direct competition with them, since they probably hunted different prey.
Experts at the University of Edinburgh said the new specimen was of an animal nearing adulthood. It was found largely intact and "remarkably well preserved".
One of the authors of the study, Dr Steve Brusatte of the university's school of geosciences, said: "This is a different breed of tyrannosaur. It has the familiar toothy grin of T rex, but its snout was much longer and it had a row of horns on its nose. It might have looked a little comical, but it would have been as deadly as any other tyrannosaur, and maybe even a little faster and stealthier."
He added: "It is an awesome specimen, almost a complete skeleton. It is a really one-in-a-million find that those workers made."
Following the discovery, which is reported in Nature Communications, researchers have created a new branch of the tyrannosaur family for specimens with very long snouts, and they expect more dinosaurs (http://www.theguardian.com/science/dinosaurs) to be added to the group as excavations in Asia continue to identify new species.
Professor Junchang Lu, of the institute of geology at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, said: "The new discovery is very important. Along with alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia.
"Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia."
Pinocchio rex: new dinosaur species discovered in China | Science | theguardian.com (http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/07/pinocchio-rex-new-species-dinosaur-china)