ScienceDaily: Tyrannosaurus Rex News

Small, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. Paleontologists have now described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur species known from Canada.

Allosaurus fed more like a falcon than a crocodile: Engineering, anatomy work reveals differences in dinosaur feeding styles

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:26:26 EDT

The mighty T. rex may have thrashed its massive head from side to side to dismember prey, but a new study shows that its smaller cousin Allosaurus was a more dexterous hunter and tugged at prey more like a modern-day falcon.

Fossil brain teaser: New study reveals patterns of dinosaur brain development

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:40:40 EDT

A new study sheds light on how the brain and inner ear developed in dinosaurs. Using high-resolution CT scanning and 3D computer imaging, it was possible to reconstruct and visualise the brain and inner ear of Dysalotosaurus lettowvorbecki -- a small, plant-eating dinosaur, which lived 150 million years ago, in what is now Tanzania.

New evidence dinosaurs were strong swimmers

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:35:35 EDT

A researcher has identified some of the strongest evidence ever found that dinosaurs could paddle long distances. He examined unusual claw marks left on a river bottom in China that is known to have been a major travel-way for dinosaurs.

New dinosaur species: First fossil evidence shows small crocs fed on baby dinosaurs

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:15:15 EST

A paleontologist and his team have discovered a new species of herbivorous dinosaur and published the first fossil evidence of prehistoric crocodyliforms feeding on small dinosaurs.

Blame it on Barney: Student perceptions of an upright tyrannosaurus rex remain obsolete

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 11:45:45 EST

Ask a college student to sketch a Tyrannosaurus rex, and he or she will probably draw an upright, tail-dragging creature with tiny arms. An 8-year-old will draw something similar. They’re wrong, of course. The terrible T. rex, an agile, dynamic predator, never went upright. In fact, T. Rex tarried horizontal. So why are students’ perceptions of the T. rex stalled in the early 1900s? A research team sought answers after years of anecdotally observing students drawing the T. rex incorrectly.

Dinosaur shook tail feathers for mating show

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 08:31:31 EST

A researcher's examination of fossilized dinosaur tail bones has led to a breakthrough finding: some feathered dinosaurs used tail plumage to attract mates, much like modern-day peacocks and turkeys.

Inside the head of a dinosaur: Research reveals new information on the evolution of dinosaur senses

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:41:41 EST

A new study of the brain anatomy of therizinosaurs, plant-eating dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous Period, has revealed interesting links with their notorious meat-eating 'cousins' Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor.

New study sheds light on dinosaur size

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:41:41 EST

Dinosaurs were not only the largest animals to roam the Earth -- they also had a greater number of larger species compared to all other back-boned animals -- scientists suggest in a new article.

Scientists find oldest dinosaur -- or closest relative yet

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:44:44 EST

Researchers have discovered what may be the earliest dinosaur, a creature the size of a Labrador retriever, but with a five foot-long tail, that walked the Earth about 10 million years before more familiar dinosaurs like the small, swift-footed Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus. The findings mean that the dinosaur lineage appeared 10 million to 15 million years earlier than fossils previously showed.

For some feathered dinosaurs, bigger not always better

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:32:32 EST

Researchers have started looking at why dinosaurs that abandoned meat in favor of vegetarian diets got so big, and their results may call conventional wisdom about plant-eaters and body size into question.

Were dinosaurs destined to be big? Testing Cope's rule

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:19:19 EDT

In the evolutionary long run, small critters tend to evolve into bigger beasts -- at least according to the idea attributed to paleontologist Edward Cope, now known as Cope's Rule. Using the latest advanced statistical modeling methods, a new test of this rule as it applies dinosaurs shows that Cope was right -- sometimes.

Mass extinction study provides lessons for modern world

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:42:42 EDT

The Cretaceous Period of Earth history ended with a mass extinction that wiped out numerous species, most famously the dinosaurs. A new study now finds that the structure of North American ecosystems made the extinction worse than it might have been.

Fossils of first feathered dinosaurs from North America discovered: Clues on early wing uses

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:03:03 EDT

The first ornithomimid specimens preserved with feathers, recovered from 75 million-year-old rocks in the badlands of Alberta, Canada has been described.

Analysis of dinosaur bone cells confirms ancient protein preservation

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:13:13 EDT

A team of researchers has found more evidence for the preservation of ancient dinosaur proteins, including reactivity to antibodies that target specific proteins normally found in bone cells of vertebrates. These results further rule out sample contamination, and help solidify the case for preservation of cells -- and possibly DNA -- in ancient remains.

Fossil skeleton of strange, ancient digging mammal clears up 30-year-old evolutionary debate

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:07:07 EDT

Shortly after dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops went extinct, the Earth became filled with mammals only distantly related to those alive today. Until recently, one of these creatures, Ernanodon antelios, was only known from a single, highly distorted specimen that raised many questions about its habits and evolutionary relationships. Scientists have now described a second specimen of Ernanodon that sheds new light on this curious beast.

Feathered saurians: Downy dinosaur discovered

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:41:41 EDT

The new fossil find from the chalk beds of the Franconian Jura evokes associations with a pet cemetery, for the young predatory dinosaur reveals clear traces of fluffy plumage. It also poses an intriguing question: were all dinosaurs dressed in down?

Newly discovered dinosaur implies greater prevalence of feathers; Megalosaur fossil represents first feathered dinosaur not closely related to birds

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:02:02 EDT

A new species of feathered dinosaur discovered in southern Germany is further changing the perception of how predatory dinosaurs looked. The fossil of Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which lived about 150 million years ago, provides the first evidence of feathered theropod dinosaurs that are not closely related to birds.

Newly discovered close relative of T. rex is largest known feathered dinosaur

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:34:34 EDT

Palaeontologists have known for more than a decade that some small dinosaurs had bird-like feathers, mainly thanks to beautifully preserved fossils from northeastern China. Now three specimens of a new tyrannosauroid from the same region show that at least one much larger dinosaur had a feathery coat as well.

Crocodiles trump T. rex as heavyweight bite-force champions, new study shows

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:02:02 EDT

Biologists have found in a study of all 23 living crocodilian species that crocodiles can kill with the strongest bite force measured for any living animal. The study also revealed that the bite forces of the largest extinct crocodilians exceeded 23,000 pounds, a force two-times greater than the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex.

T. rex's killer smile revealed

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:04:04 EDT

One of the most prominent features of life-size models of Tyrannosaurus rex is its fearsome array of flesh-ripping, bone-crushing teeth. New research shows that the T. rex’s front teeth gripped and pulled, while the teeth along the side of the jaw punctured and tore flesh.

T. rex has most powerful bite of any terrestrial animal ever

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:38:38 EST

Research, using computer models to reconstruct the jaw muscle of Tyrannosaurus rex, has suggested that the dinosaur had the most powerful bite of any living or extinct terrestrial animal.

North America's biggest dinosaur revealed

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:29:29 EST

New research has unveiled enormous bones from North America's biggest dinosaur. Researchers collected two gigantic vertebrae and a femur in New Mexico. The bones belong to the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis: a long-necked plant eater related to Diplodocus. The Alamosaurus roamed what is now the southwestern United States and Mexico about 69 million years ago.

New horned dinosaur announced nearly 100 years after discovery

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:50:50 EST

A new species of horned dinosaur was just announced by an international team of scientists, nearly 100 years after the initial discovery of the fossil. The animal, named Spinops sternbergorum, lived approximately 76 million years ago in southern Alberta, Canada. Spinops was a plant-eater that weighed around two tons when alive, a smaller cousin of Triceratops.

Super-sized muscle made twin-horned dinosaur a speedster

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:24:24 EDT

A meat-eating dinosaur that terrorized its plant-eating neighbors in South America was a lot deadlier than first thought, a researcher has found. Carnotaurus was a seven-meter-long predator with a huge tail muscle that paleontologists say made it one of the fastest running hunters of its time.

T. rex was bigger and grew faster than previously thought, computational analysis reveals

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:56:56 EDT

A new study reveals that T. rex grew more quickly and reached significantly greater masses than previously estimated. In a departure from earlier methods, the new study uses mounted skeletons to generate body mass estimates.

Last dinosaur before mass extinction discovered

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:10:10 EDT

A team of scientists has discovered the youngest dinosaur preserved in the fossil record before the catastrophic meteor impact 65 million years ago. The finding indicates that dinosaurs did not go extinct prior to the impact and provides further evidence as to whether the impact was in fact the cause of their extinction.

Body temperature of dinosaurs measured for the first time

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:25:25 EDT

When dinosaurs were first discovered in the mid-19th century, paleontologists thought they were plodding beasts that relied on their environment to keep warm, like modern-day reptiles.

Body temperatures of dinosaurs measured for first time: Some dinosaurs were as warm as most modern mammals

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:13:13 EDT

Were dinosaurs slow and lumbering, or quick and agile? It depends largely on whether they were cold or warm blooded. Now, a team of researchers has developed a new approach to take body temperatures of dinosaurs for the first time, providing new insights into whether dinosaurs were cold or warm blooded.

Asteroid served up 'custom orders' of life's ingredients

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:48:48 EDT

Some asteroids may have been like "molecular factories" cranking out life's ingredients and shipping them to Earth via meteorite impacts, according to scientists who've made discoveries of molecules essential for life in material from certain kinds of asteroids and comets. Now it appears that at least one may have been less like a rigid assembly line and more like a flexible diner that doesn't mind making changes to the menu.

Immature skull led young tyrannosaurs to rely on speed, agility to catch prey

Mon, 09 May 2011 15:12:12 EDT

While adult tyrannosaurs wielded power and size to kill large prey, youngsters used agility to hunt smaller game.

The eyes have it: Dinosaurs hunted by night

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:13:13 EDT

The movie Jurassic Park got one thing right: those velociraptors hunted by night while the big plant-eaters browsed around the clock, according to a new study of the eyes of fossil animals.

Birds inherited strong sense of smell from dinosaurs

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:17:17 EDT

Birds are known more for their senses of vision and hearing than smell, but new research suggests that millions of years ago, the winged critters also boasted a better sense for scents.

New species of dinosaur bridges gap in dinosaur family tree

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:17:17 EDT

Scientists have discovered a fossilized dinosaur skull and neck vertebrae that not only reveal a new species, but also an evolutionary link between two groups of dinosaurs. The new species, Daemonosaurus chauliodus, was discovered at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.

Long lost cousin of T. rex identified by scientists

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:15:15 EDT

Scientists have identified a new species of gigantic theropod dinosaur, a close relative of T. rex, from fossil skull and jaw bones discovered in China.

T. rex more hyena than lion: Tyrannosaurus rex was opportunistic feeder, not top predator, paleontologists say

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:05:05 EST

Was T. rex really the king of the forest? A new census of dinosaurs in Montana's Hell Creek Formation shows that T. rex was far too abundant to be a top predator. Paleontologists argue that T. rex probably subsisted on a broad variety of dead as well as live animals, much like today's hyena.

Dinosaurs survived mass extinction by 700,000 years, fossil find suggests

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:17:17 EST

Researchers have determined that a fossilized dinosaur bone found in New Mexico confounds the long established paradigm that the age of dinosaurs ended between 65.5 and 66 million years ago.

No leftovers for Tyrannosaurus rex: New evidence that T. rex was hunter, not scavenger

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:17:17 EST

Tyrannosaurus rex hunted like a lion, rather than regularly scavenging like a hyena, new research reveals. The findings end a long-running debate about the hunting behavior of this awesome predator.

First single-fingered dinosaur discovered

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:17:17 EST

A new species of parrot-sized dinosaur, the first discovered with only one finger, has been unearthed in Inner Mongolia, China.

New predator 'dawn runner' discovered in early dinosaur graveyard

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:16:16 EST

A team of paleontologists and geologists from Argentina and the United States have discovered a lanky dinosaur that roamed South America in search of prey as the age of dinosaurs began, approximately 230 million years ago. Sporting a long neck and tail and weighing only 10 to 15 pounds, the new dinosaur has been named Eodromaeus -- the "dawn runner."

Pterygotid sea scorpions: No terror of the ancient seas?

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:30:30 EST

New experiments have generated evidence that questions the common belief that the pterygotid eurypterids ("sea scorpions") were high-level predators in the Paleozoic oceans.

Meat-eating dinosaurs not so carnivorous after all

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:30:30 EST

Scientists used statistical analyses to determine the diet of 90 species of theropod dinosaurs. Their results challenge the conventional view that nearly all theropods hunted prey, especially those closest to the ancestors of birds.

T. rex's big tail was its key to speed and hunting prowess

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:11:11 EST

Tyrannosaurus rex was far from a plodding Cretaceous era scavenger whose long tail only served to counterbalance the up-front weight of its freakishly big head. T. rex's athleticism (and its rear end) has now been given a makeover. New research shows that powerful tail muscles made the giant carnivore one of the fastest moving hunters of its time.

What did Tyrannosaurus rex eat? Each other

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:58:58 EDT

It turns out that the undisputed king of the dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, didn't just eat other dinosaurs but also each other. Paleontologists from the United States and Canada have found bite marks on the giants' bones that were made by other T. rex, according to a new study.

Using discards, scientists discover different dinosaurs' stomping grounds

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:09:09 EDT

By examining the type of rock in which dinosaur fossils were embedded, an often unappreciated part of the remains, scientists have determined that different species of North American dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago occupied different environments separated by just a few miles.

Dinosaurs significantly taller than previously thought, research suggests

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:14:14 EDT

It might seem obvious that a dinosaur's leg bone connects to the hip bone, but what came between the bones has been less obvious. Now, researchers have found that dinosaurs had thick layers of cartilage in their joints, which means they may have been considerably taller than previously thought.

Amazing horned dinosaurs unearthed on 'lost continent'; New discoveries include bizarre beast with 15 horns

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:19:19 EDT

Discovery of two new horned dinosaurs in southern Utah are part of an entirely new assemblage of dinosaurs found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument, and which confirm that dinosaurs living in the area called Laramidia were divided into at least northern and southern provinces.

Tyrannosaurus redux: T. rex was more than just a large carnivore at top of food chain, new findings reveal

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:51:51 EDT

A new research paper highlights recent tyrannosaur discoveries and complex analyses of the biology of certain species. The paper includes a new family tree for T. rex and its relatives.

Evolution rewritten, again and again

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EDT

Palaeontologists are forever claiming that their latest fossil discovery will "rewrite evolutionary history." Is this just boasting or does our "knowledge" of evolution radically change every time we find a new fossil?

'Stocky dragon' dinosaur, relative of Velociraptor, terrorized Late Cretaceous Europe

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:25:25 EDT

Paleontologists have discovered that a close relative of Velociraptor hunted the dwarfed inhabitants of Late Cretaceous Europe, an island landscape largely isolated from nearby continents. While island animals tend to be smaller and more primitive than their continental cousins, the theropod Balaur bondoc was as large as its relatives on other parts of the globe and demonstrated advanced adaptations including fused bones and two terrifyingly large claws on each hind foot.

What the locals ate 10,000 years ago

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:17:17 EDT

Archaeologists have found a Utah site occupied by humans 11,000 years ago. The researchers documented a variety of dishes the people dined on back then. Grind stones for milling small seeds appeared 10,000 years ago.

First horned dinosaur from Mexico: Plant-eater had largest horns of any dinosaur

Fri, 28 May 2010 12:45:45 EDT

A new species of horned dinosaur unearthed in Mexico has larger horns that any other species -- up to 4 feet long -- and has given scientists fresh insights into the ancient history of western North America, according to paleontologists.

New horned dinosaur: Two-ton plant-eater lived 78 million years ago in Montana

Fri, 28 May 2010 11:39:39 EDT

A new horned dinosaur, Medusaceratops lokii, has been discovered. Approximately 20 feet long and weighing more than 2 tons, the newly identified plant-eating dinosaur lived nearly 78 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Montana. Its identification marks the discovery of a new genus of horned dinosaur.

Were dinosaurs warm- or cold-blooded? First method for directly measuring body temperatures of extinct vertebrates

Mon, 24 May 2010 15:14:14 EDT

Questions about when, why, and how vertebrates stopped relying on external factors to regulate their body temperatures and began heating themselves internally have long intrigued scientists. Now, a team of researchers has taken a critical step toward providing some answers. They have developed the first method for the direct measurement of the body temperatures of large extinct vertebrates -- through the analysis of rare isotopes in the animals' bones, teeth, and eggshells.

First ever southern tyrannosaur dinosaur discovered

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:30:30 EDT

Scientists have found the first ever evidence that tyrannosaur dinosaurs existed in the southern continents. They identified a hip bone found at Dinosaur Cove in Victoria, Australia, as belonging to an ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex.

How dinosaurs rose to prominence

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:39:39 EDT

How did dinosaurs become rulers of Earth more than 200 million years ago? Widespread volcanism and a spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide wiped out half of all plant species, and extinguished early crocodile relatives that had competed with the earliest dinosaurs, according to experts.

Fossilized feces research produces new evidence related to giant crocodile

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:38:38 EDT

Ancient bite marks and fossilized feces discovered in Georgia are providing new details about a giant crocodile that roamed the Southeast United States about 79 million years ago.

Students discover new species of raptor dinosaur in Inner Mongolia

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:52:52 EDT

A new species of dinosaur, a relative of the famous Velociraptor, has been discovered in Inner Mongolia by two Ph.D. students. The exceptionally well preserved dinosaur, named Linheraptor exquisitus, is the first near complete skeleton of its kind to be found in the Gobi desert since 1972, and will help scientists work out the appearance of other closely related dinosaur species.

Bird-from-dinosaur theory of evolution challenged: Was it the other way around?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:33:33 EST

A new study provides yet more evidence that birds did not descend from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs, experts say, and continues to challenge decades of accepted theories about the evolution of flight.

New Species of Tyrannosaur Discovered in Southwestern U.S.

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:03:03 EST

A new species of tyrannosaur has been discovered in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness of New Mexico. Bistahieversor was different from other tyrannosauroids in having an extra opening above its eye, a complex joint at its "forehead," and a keel along its lower jaw; it also had more teeth than its distant relative T. rex.