Scientists discover 'mini T-Rex'
Raptorex appears to be a miniature Tyrannosaurus rex
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Thursday, 17, Sep 2009 11:23
By Richard James.
Scientists claim to have discovered a 9ft dinosaur which had all the hallmarks of a Tyrannosaurus rex, but lived 60 million years earlier and was almost one 100th the size.
Research published in the journal Science claims a fossil of the newly discovered Raptorex found in China displays the characteristics of the famous predator but at "punk size" - in other words, in miniature.
University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno said the dinosaur was "basically our bodyweight. And that's pretty staggering, because there's no other example that I can think of where an animal has been so finely designed at about 100th the size that it would eventually become."
The small dinosaur is said to display all the hallmarks of its famous descendant, including a large head compared to its torso, tiny arms and lanky feet well-suited for running.
Examinations of its brain cast also appear to indicate enlarged olfactory bulbs - like the T-rex - indicating a highly developed sense of smell.
Mr Sereno said the Raptorex left for its descendants "a suite of detailed features largely related to getting bigger".
He also expressed his surprise at the scalability of the tyrannosaur body type, which when sized up 90 million years ago completely dominated the predatory eco-niche in both Asia and North America until the great extinction 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
"On other continents like Africa, you have as many as three large predators living in the same areas that split among them the job of eating meat," he said.
However in Africa, the allosaurs never went extinct, as they did in North America, possibly presenting an evolutionary opportunity for Raptorex.
"We have no evidence that it was a competitive takeover because we have never found large tyrannosaurs and allosaurs together," he added.