SCIENCE

Dueling Dinosaurs Reveal Multiple Tyrannosaur Species

A famed Montana find known as the Dueling Dinosaurs, first uncovered on a summer day, has upended decades of T. rex dogma. In Nature, paleontologists Lindsay Zanno and James Napoli report that the carnivore entangled with a triceratops isn’t a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex but a grown Nanotyrannus lancensis, based on robust arms, dental and tail differences, and growth-ring analysis showing maturity around age 20. While modeling other fossils, they identify a second species, Nanotyrannus lethaeus. The work at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences suggests multiple tyrannosaurs shared Cretaceous ecosystems, a view welcomed by an outside expert.

Reviewed by JQJO team

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