Posted on 10/10/2018 9:53:37 AM PDT by ETL
The Tyrannosaurus rex may be among the most well-known and terrifying dinosaurs to walk the Earth, but a newly discovered relative may have been even scarier.
Dynamoterror dynastes, a variant of T. rex, was discovered in New Mexico in 2012 by a team of researchers, led by Western Science Center paleontologist Andrew McDonald. It has a slightly different bone structure compared to its successor cousin.
"Despite fragmentation of much of the axial and appendicular skeleton prior to discovery, the frontals, a metacarpal, and two pedal phalanges are well-preserved," the study's abstract reads. "The frontals exhibit an unambiguous autapomorphy and a second potential autapomorphy that distinguish this specimen from all other tyrannosaurids."
D. dynastes, which means "powerful terror ruler," lived approximately 80 million years ago, significantly older than many T. rex fossils which have already been found. The large majority of T. rex fossils that are already in museums are between 66 million and 77 million years old, the study added.
The study was published in PeerJ, a scientific peer-reviewed journal.
The fossils were found in the Menefee Formation of New Mexico, part of the ancient continent Laramidia, which later became North America.
The bone fragments provided challenges to the researchers, but they were able to utilize 3D scanning and printing to figure out that it was a therapod, even if they weren't sure it was carnivorous, initially. "Laser-scanning the frontals and creation of a composite 3-D digital model allows the frontal region of the skull roof of Dynamoterror to be reconstructed," the abstract adds.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Tyrannosauridae is a taxonomic family of theropods. These dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous have been found only in North America
and Asia. They lived in the later part of the period, 88 to 65 million years ago.
It blows my mind that animals like that once existed; they are the stuff of nightmares!
Did they find its hippocampus?
I think the boom of Job describes several of them.
Good one.
I loved it when the T-Rex chased the car in Jurassic Park.
The super T-Rex might have eaten them all not just a lawyer.
Er...make that the BOOK of Job. Then again, we haven’t had a good BOOM! on FR for a few days, so you can leave it as it is if you like.
If Trump were around back then, he would have given them a nickname that mocked their tiny arms.
“Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.”
*ping*
Dynamoterror? Frank Zappa tried to warn us...
So, they recreated a new dinosaur from a finger, two toes, and a forehead.
Thanks fieldmarshaldj.
“So, they recreated a new dinosaur from a finger, two toes, and a forehead.”
If they wanted you to notice that they wouldn’t have used “the frontals, a metacarpal, and two pedal phalanges”.
Now that I broke the code, will I be Jurassicided?
Dynamoterror.
I first read that as Dynamoterrier.
A small, yapping dinosaur that explodes if you set it off.
And it's kept as the lone pet of gay dinosaur couples, one of whom is small, the other tall and obese, and one is much older than the other.
Some fun horror flicks, too!
All that from just one specimen. Okaaaay....
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