Fossils reveal relatives of tyrant dinosaurs

Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of an unknown species of typhoid that lived in the North American Plain 80 million years ago.

Image reconstructing the species Thanatotheristes degrootorum.(Graphic: University of Calgary).

The new species, Thanatotheristes degrootorum (meaning "Death" in Greek), is thought to be closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex. They were an average of about 8 meters long and were the predators of the food chain in North America at the time, Darla Zelenitsky, Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, Canada.

While T-rex dominated Earth about 66 million years ago, the T. degrootorum " grim reaper" existed at least 79 million years ago and is considered to be one of the oldest typhoons.

The fossil record was discovered by Jared Voris, a PhD student at the University of Calgary. This is the first new tyrannizardid found in Canada in 50 years. "Due to the nature of the food chain, these table-top predators are much rarer than herbivorous or plant-eating dinosaurs , " study co-author Zelenitsky explained.

T. degrootorum was the apex predator about 80 million years ago.(Graphic: University of Calgary).

Fossil analyzes showed that T. degrootorum had a long and deep muzzle, similar to the primitive dinosaurs that lived in the southern United States. However, the shape of their skulls varies significantly from region to region, probably due to the different diets depending on the region's prey available. The research has been published in Cretaceous Research.

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