The Groundbreaking Discovery of a Tiny T-Rex in Utah

Home Biology The Groundbreaking Discovery of a Tiny T-Rex in Utah

Biology

By Trista - March 10, 2020

Whenever you think of a T-Rex, you think of a monstrous animal standing close to 40 feet tall. However, have you ever thought of a tinier version of the Tyrannosaurus? According to a paper published in Nature on February 21, 2019, paleontologists came up with a revolutionary discovery of one diminutive version of a T-Rex ancestor. It started with finding a few of its teeth and a hind leg bone in Utah. After running some experiments and extensive research, it was found out that the tiny version of a T-Rex stood at around 3 to 4 feet tall and was the size of a modern deer.

What is a Paleontologist?

The Groundbreaking Discovery of a Tiny T-Rex in Utah — Many kids want to be teachers or doctors, but what about a paleontologist? Credit: National Geographic Society

When people think of a paleontologist, they often think of dinosaurs, but what is a paleontologist? A paleontologist is a scientist who studies much more than just dinosaurs. They review the fossilized remains of various organisms that range from plants, animals, fungi, and single-celled living things. Their purpose in studying these fossils is to know and understand the history of their life on Earth. Their specific work will vary a little depending on their scope and what they are aiming to find due to their research and discoveries. There are even times when a paleontologist might work closely with an archeology team.

Part of their work is to understand the relationship between extinct animals or plants and their living relatives. They use uncovered fossils to piece together the elements of history that make up Earth and life on it. Fossils are referred to as any trace of a past life form. Did you know that most fossils found are several thousands to several millions or even billions of years old? Their research helps them to try and understand the extinction events of the past. The goal is to use their scientific knowledge and conclusions regarding environments and global climate change to understand the history.

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Paleontology Focuses on a Variety of Areas

Similar to other fields and specialties, paleontology can focus its studies on a variety of areas. During their education, each individual can find which area they are truly passionate about. For instance, biostratigraphy is the study of the vertical distribution of fossils in rocks. Other people might prefer to work within paleoecology, which is studying ancient ecosystems and how they developed. If someone is interested in plants, they might choose to pursue paleobotany, where they can explore plants’ fossils. There are a variety of niches within paleontology. That is important because it helps not only them but also the rest of the population understand our planet’s evolution.

There are many specific things that a paleontologist does. They work to determine the location of fossils. Once the site is found, they have to excavate layers of rock to locate the fossils without damaging them. After the fossils are found and excavated, the paleontologist will gather information specific to that fossil. That would include the location and age, among other things. They will compare new data to any existing data, including identifying the fossils’ period. As a result, the findings can help paleontologists understand the history and evolution of that specific fossil, whether animal or plant.

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The History of Dinosaurs in Utah

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs trekked across the landscape of Utah. There have been thousands of remnants of this prehistoric era. They have been carefully identified, preserved, and are now interpreted in museums and quarries across the state. In northeastern Utah, the Dinosaur National Monument is home to an astonishing 2,000 bones of dinosaurs. Utah has an incredible fossil record that spans the entire age of the dinosaurs. Scientists and paleontologists know that the dinosaurs thrived for over 150 million years. The fossil record in Utah spans the entire Mesozoic period, ranging from approximately 245 million years ago to 65 million years ago.

Fossil bones and tracks of dinosaurs have been found in Utah, along with many other plants and animals. All of the dinosaur-bearing fossils have been found in eastern and southern Utah, indicating that the dinosaurs and other animals lived. There have been lower and middle Jurassic deposits in Utah that sometimes display very large track sites that further conclude the presence of dinosaurs in Utah. However, their skeletal remains have been mostly absent. As paleontologists uncover the fossils, they have found the formations to be largely sandstones. It is indicative of an environment that might not be as favorable to the preservation of fossils.

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Where Are There So Many Dinosaurs in Utah?

When you visit Utah and stop at the Quarry Exhibit Hall, you will find over 1,500 displayed fossils. You might wonder if the bones were indeed they were artfully placed there. The truth is that the bones were arranged by nature more than 150 million years ago as an ancient stream deposited them. Everything in the quarry is real and authentic. The river ran its course through a lowland area and sometimes even dried up. It is known that dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus, gathered around shrinking pools of water in the river bed. Some even eventually died in place. Then, they are surrounded and buried by sand and gravel when the river flowed once again.

As time passed, the river accumulated large amounts of bones. The mud and sand layers slowly covered the bones, which led them to become hardened into rock eventually. The bones then remained there until the next big event would occur. Around sixty-five million years ago, the big event began to happen. The forces beneath the Earth’s crust began to exert themselves and force the crust upward. As a result, the crust buckled, and the riverbed that contained the bones started to tilt upward. Now near the surface, it was clear that the erosion would eventually expose the bones and that someone one uncover them one day.

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What Do Paleontologists Think?

Paleontologists from three major institutions, Stellenbosch University in South Africa, North Carolina State University, and the Field Museum in Chicago, named this discovery “Moros Intrepidus.” It generally means the “harbinger of doom.” It is usually stated that the smaller Tyrannosaurus might have been pretty fast and light in weight. It has the power to run down its prey quickly and is rarely a victim of predators. The Tyrannosaurus rex, also known as the tyrant lizard, is one of the most enormous dinosaurs to have walked the Earth. They lived more than 70 million years ago. Tyrannosaurus rex was an extremely fierce predator!

Studies indicate that this tiny T-Rex lived 96 million years ago and roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period. At that time, Utah happened to be a lush, green environment. Until 2019, this place was a new state and unknown territory for paleontologists. It shows a massive gap of 70 million years in the fossil record of the dinosaur world. It also means that experts were not sure of any earlier evolution of dinosaurs, which later took the role of an undisputed apex predator, covering North America’s entirety. Navigating Utah allowed scientists to dive into the history of the T-Rex in the area.

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Experts State That Tiny T-Rexes Are Simply Teenagers

Some detailed studies of the available fossil leg bones suggest that the tinier T-Rexes are not new species but teenage dinosaur bones. There were two controversial skeletons of dinosaurs discovered, which shared an environment with the smaller species, as found in February 2019. During the early 2000s, these two skeletons were found in the Hell Creek Formation, covering Wyoming, Montana, and North and South Dakota. The formation further displayed some of the first T-Rex bones in the 20th century. The tiny T-Rexes helped scientists understand the species’ evolution and how they ranged vastly in size.

The complete specimen out of the two was nicknamed Jane, and the other one was called Petey. Another skull was found in 1942, which was stated to be a new form of a dinosaur, namely Nanotyrannus. It was exactly like that of a T-Rex, but smaller in size. After performing some detailed analyses, it was concluded that the smaller predators are the teenage version of the otherwise giant T-Rex. Perhaps it was a joke that they were the adolescent version because they were smaller and appeared not to be fully grown. The discovery was unexpected from scientists.

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Disagreements Among Experts

However, there have often been some disagreements around this platform for an extremely long time. Some of the latest analyses at Oklahoma State University by Holly Woodward and her team are likely to make different statements. Modernized vertebrates have a period annually when bone growth pauses for a brief time. It helps leave behind a circular mark in every bone to let others know that the development was stopped. Experts will count those rings just like with any tree to find the age of that dinosaur. Woodward counted the rings in Petey and Jane’s tibias and femurs.

The counting of the rings in the bones states that Jane was around 13 years old and Petey about 15 years when they died. There have been other fossils, like Sue, which was found to have lived a healthy life of 30 years. That makes Petey and Jane adolescents in comparison. It is a known fact that T-Rexes are giant animals, but they did not start it off that way. They used to be a baby first and then an adolescent before becoming a complete adult. Like other animals, they have evolved from a smaller version where they eventually increased to immense size.

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About The T-Rex

With a scientific name, Tyrannosaurus rex, this prehistoric animal is predatory and stands 40 feet long and is approximately 15 to 20 feet tall. Defined as one of the most enormous meat-eating dinosaurs of the prehistoric era, it is strong and known for its maximum bone-crushing action. Everything about this predator, starting from the heavy and thick skull to the 4 feet long jaw, is reliable and known to kill anyone with just a little pressure.

According to the fossils found, it seems that Tyrannosaurus rex stood 12 meters long and 6 meters tall. The muscular well-compensated thighs with extended and powerful tails helped the animal to move smoothly and quickly. Then it has a massive 5 feet long skull that can effortlessly bore into prey. This animal has conical and serrated teeth, used to grip flesh well after piercing through it, which then gets ripped off with the help of brawny neck muscles. The forearms feature just two fingers, designed to seize prey with utmost aggression. However, the arms are way too short of reaching their mouth.

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Tyrannosaurus As A Predator

As per the records from well-trained scientists, this powerful predator can quickly eat around 500 pounds of meat just in a single bite! Now that is incredibly fascinating. Some fossils of predators, such as Edmontosaurus and Triceratops, reveal that these predators can easily crush the bones and break them when they eat. Scientists have found broken bones in their dung. Their serrated, conical teeth were often used to not only pierce but grip the flesh of their prey. Their diet was mostly full of meat. The T-Rexes acquired their food through both scavenging and hunting. They grew incredibly fast and ate hundreds of pounds at a time.

These predators were assumed to have lived in the lush forested valley of North America, mainly during the late Cretaceous period. It is now more than 5 million years since the last T-Rex was seen. These dinosaurs became the victim of the mass Cretaceous-tertiary extinctions. Apart from being the most dangerous and largest predator that once walked the surface of the Earth, Tyrannosaurus rex has had massive media coverage, thanks to so many movies made about it, like the smash-hit Jurassic Park. You can get a glimpse of a master T-Rex skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History, located in NYC.

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Facts About T-Rex

The name Tyrannosaurus rex means “king of tyrant lizards.” In the year 1905, the president of the American Museum of Natural History named the predator Tyrannosaurus rex. T-Rex is mainly a member of the Tyrannosauroidea family. This family is composed of substantial predatory dinosaurs, known for their distinct two-fingered hands and smaller arms. Apart from Tyrannosaurus rex, some of the other species under this family are Alectrosaurus, Chingkankousaurus, Gorgosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Eotyrannus, and Albertosaurus, to name a few. The T-Rex was brilliant too. They had a brain that was shockingly twice as large as those of the other giant carnivores.

In western Northern America, the first Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils were discovered in the stretch between Alberta to Texas. However, some studies show that T-Rex might have been one invasive species coming from Asia. An analysis was done on this giant predator’s skeletal features, which showed that this animal has many similarities to the two tyrannosaurs found in Asia, namely Zhuchengtyrannus and Tarbosaurus. It seems that the beast might have crossed more than 67 million years ago when the sea between North America and Asia receded. However, this finding is still in its initial stages, and the experts mostly state that T-Rex came into existence from North America only.

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More About Its Insane Figure

There has been one T-Rex skeleton, namely Sue, which is the most complete and largest one in this entire Tyrannosaurus rex species group. Sue Hendrickson discovered it during a commercial excavation trip. However, the actual sex of the dinosaur skeleton is unknown. Once the measurements took place, it was evident that Sue was one of the most giant possible carnivorous dinosaurs to have lived and walked on Earth, standing at 13 feet tall and 40 feet long. Another publication was made in 2011, which states that T-Rex weighed as much as 9 tons.

The firmer thighs and the powerful tail, as mentioned already, helped the body to counterbalance the large head and allowed the animal to move at a faster rate. A study in the year 2011 shows that the T-Rex’s muscle distribution along with the center of mass states that this predator could efficiently run 10 to 25 meters per hour. Sue is also the most complete at around 90 percent. Scientists have 250 of the roughly 380 known bones in the T. Rex skeleton. It includes the furcula, or wishbone, and the gastrali, a set of rib-like bones that are stretched across the dinosaur’s belly and believed to have helped Sue breathe.

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Its Fingers And Neck Muscles

The two-fingered forearms are pretty puny to look at, making it difficult for the animal to use them to kill or even grab a meal. Their arms have often been ridiculed. The arms were way too short also of reaching their mouths. One research from Micheal Habib from the University of Southern California states that the animals used to have such small arms and only two fingers because of their powerful bites. The bones of the chest and shoulder are anchor points for muscles going into the arm. They are also anchor points for neck muscles. Only so much muscle can attach to any given bone. By reducing the size of the arms and muscles, there is more space for their neck muscles.

Apart from the fingers and arms, these dinosaurs had thicker neck muscles designed to hold the more massive skull and always give out a powerful bite. The arm and neck muscles are used to compete for space in the shoulder, and then it appears that the muscles from the neck are used to edge out arm muscles in such cases. On the other hand, long arms tend to break and are also vulnerable to diseases. Such arms will take more energy to maintain. Therefore, having shorter arms had proven beneficial for the “king of dinosaurs” to work in the long run.

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Dealing With Prey

It was up to the massive and thick skull of T-Rex to deal with its prey. The bite was the strongest of any living animal to have walked this planet. The chomp of a dinosaur can easily exert a pressure of around 12,814 pounds, which is more or less equivalent to a medium-sized elephant sitting on top of you. The mouth consists of serrated teeth, with the largest tooth measuring 12 inches long. Tyrannosaurus Rexes were forced to go out and kill for food when they were hungry. Occasionally they were opportunistic and may have fed on carcasses.

However, not all teeth were known to serve the same purpose. According to a 2012 study, the front teeth were used for pulling and gripping meat from the victim. The side teeth were used for tearing flesh, and the back teeth were used to dice up chunks of meat and forced food into the throat. The teeth were tested out to be broad and a bit dull and not quite like a dagger. So, their teeth got the chance to withstand forces, as exerted by any struggling prey. However, it is mostly unknown whether the T.Rex hunted alone or in packs. They were also not above enjoying another T.rex for dinner.

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Predecessors Are Pretty Small

A T-Rex might indeed be a giant, but you can’t say the same for its predecessors. This giant carnivore had extremely humble beginnings. The first ones used to be sized like humans or horses, and they originated around 170 million years ago. They were the primary walkers during the mid-Jurassic period. Even though these predators were pretty small in stature, they used to have smarter brains and even advanced sensory perceptions. That includes good hearing as well. The animal was a slender dinosaur that stood no more than four feet tall at the hip. Scientists now see that Tyrannosaurs remained small for millions of years longer than what was previously thought.

It only took about 15 million years for the pint-size Tyrannosaur to evolve fully. It became the towering Tyrannosaurus rex we are all so familiar with. Over that time, the changing climate wiped out the allosaurus. In turn, this opened a niche that Tyrannosaurs then filled. Another finding took place on a newly found Tyrannosaur from the Mid-Cretaceous, Timurlengia euotica. They were found to have an advanced brain like Tyrannosaurs when they were pretty small. The tiny predecessors were lightweight and exceptionally fast. It could have efficiently run down prey while avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day.

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Foods Consumed By T-Rexes

Known for their carnivorous habits, T-Rexes chomped on herbivorous dinosaurs like the Triceratops and Edmontosaurus. The predator mainly procured its food from hunting and scavenging. These predators used to grow pretty fast and ate pounds and pounds of meat in one go. According to some scientists, T-Rex was quite an opportunist and might have fed on carcasses. However, that did not go well as those were not consistent or abundant sources of food. So, they had to live a hard life going out and killing for food whenever they were hungry. For many years, it was proven that T-Rex hunted for meals.

Some conditions were noted, like teeth near carcasses, bones with bite marks, and even foot tracks to suggest pursuits. Nevertheless, a study was found in 2013, namely “Proceedings of National Academy of Science,” where researchers stated the direct evidence of this giant animal’s predatory nature. There was a tooth of the T-Rex embedded in the duckbill dinosaur’s tailbone, which healed over the tooth. However, these dinosaurs likely fed on a wide variety of prey. They would have required large amounts of food to maintain such a large size and most likely could not afford to be picky.

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More Studies About Food

Another study made in the year 2010 stated that T-Rex was quite protective of its food and was not entirely happy to share it with another dinosaur of the same kind. There was evidence found of deep gashes in one of T-Rex’s bones, created by T-Rex teeth. Now, it is not entirely clear if there had been a fight between two predators or if they ended up eating carcasses of their kind. Even today, scientists are not quite sure whether these predators used to hunt in a pack or alone by themselves. Due to their strong bites, they were allowed to feed on the carcasses of enormous dinosaurs.

In 2014, a group of researchers came across dinosaur track marks in British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies’ foothills. Among the seven tracks found, three were of Tyrannosaurids, mainly Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and Albertosaurus. This study clearly states that T-Rex used to hunt in packs. Researchers still debate on whether this dinosaur scavenged more frequently or if they were forced to hunt live prey primarily. They have been said to have the most substantial bite of any terrestrial animal known to man. Tyrannosaurus rexes have an immense pair of jaws, with their head disproportionately large, requiring an extremely muscular neck to support them.

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Unknown Facts About The T-Rex

It isn’t the first time you have heard about T-Rex, thanks to movies, video games, and even storybooks. Even some scientific studies have given out a plethora of information about this massive prehistoric predator. Now, it is time to focus on some of the significant factors you were unaware of in Tyrannosaurus Rex. They were hunters and scavengers. For many years now, experts have argued whether the T-Rex was an opportunistic scavenger or a solid hunter. Well, it always depends on the situation because the meat from carcasses was not filling enough. So, for surviving this environment, T-Rexes used to play the role of savage killers sometimes. It all worked according to the surrounding environment.

Besides, just because the largest fossil we have found is measured 40 feet long, that does not mean that there are no larger specimens out there. Fossilization takes specific conditions. Only a small percentage of dinosaur remains underwent fossilization for humans to discover later. Scientists estimate that any single Tyrannosaurus could have measured between 10 and 20 percent larger than the maximum size found. These dinosaurs utilized a wide range of habitats. The landscape of their coverage was very different 65 million years ago, as was much of the world. There are thirteen known specimens that all hid under Earth in the United States and Canada.

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Other Unknown Facts

They are known to have lived for around 30 years. It isn’t straightforward to focus on the exact lifespan of a T-Rex after checking out the fossils. However, depending on the existing specimens and their analysis, experts state that the T-Rexes might have lived for 28 years, max. Scientists have believed that the T-rex lived primarily in areas with high humidity and semi-tropical temperatures. They would have lived in coastal swamps, and open forests and likely remained close to water sources. The water sources would have likely attracted a wide variety of prey that these carnivores to feed on. Staying close to the water source would make hunting a lot easier.

During that time, dinosaurs were at the top of the food chain; these predators might have died from disease, old age, or even hunger and not by getting attacked by any other theropods, except when these predators were either weak or young. Other dinosaurs that lived alongside T-Rex have been proven to enjoy a lifespan of 100 years, if not more. That includes the titanosaurs with 50 tons of weight. The Tyrannosaurus is quite possibly the most famous dinosaur in the world. It has largely been portrayed in movies and books. If you ask someone what a Tyrannosaurus is, they are more than likely to picture their tiny areas and ginormous mouths.

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Extra Points You Never Realized

Biologically, female T-Rexes were bigger than males. Depending on the findings on fossils and even the hip shape and size, it is not hard to state that female T-Rexes always outweigh the males by thousands of pounds. It is the result of a trait that is often called sexual dimorphism. According to this trait, the female ones had to lay clutches of bigger-sized eggs and were blessed with bigger hips by evolution. Some other research materials state that the females might have been way more accomplished hunters than their male partners, just like with the modernized female lions.

Tyrannosauruses were further known to have stinky breath. It was evident that the Mesozoic era’s dinosaurs did not have the opportunity to floss or brush their teeth! Some experts think that small shards of bacteria-infested and rotten meat will remain lodged within the tightly packed teeth all the time. Therefore, T-Rex’s bite is always stated to be a “septic bite.” It will not just infect the wounded prey but will also kill it with passing the time. This entire process takes place within days or weeks, within which another T-Rex will visit the injured game and feast on it.

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Hatchlings Had Feathers And More

Have you ever wondered what dinosaur hatchlings look like in real life? Some research shows that hatchlings had feathers on them. One fact has already been accepted the dinosaurs have evolved into birds. So, some of the carnivorous dinosaurs were covered in feathers, mainly the raptors. Experts believe that all tyrannosaurs, including T-Rex, were also covered in feathers at some point in their lives. Some conclude these dinosaurs were covered in feathers when they hatched. Why? It shows this in the feathered Tyrannosaurus’ from Asia like the Dilong and the Yutyrannus. They are the same size and shape as a T-Rex.

Moreover, on the contrary, arms are not as tiny as you thought. Whenever you look at a T-Rex skeleton, the first thing you notice, other than its size, is the short, stout arms. Some might even make fun of it. When compared to its massive body, the arms do feel odd. You don’t know that the arms were three feet long and might have a bench press of around 400 pounds each. These dinosaurs didn’t have as small of arms in any kind of event as other carnivorous dinosaurs like the Carnotaurus, where the arms looked more like tiny nibs.

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Feeding On Other Dinosaurs

There is an ongoing debate on the types of foods that T-Rex used to consume. What we do know is that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was largely carnivorous. Some believe that it used to feed on Triceratops as well. These Triceratops were in a non-inconceivable position as dinosaurs. Triceratops and T-Rex used to live in North America during the late Cretaceous period. So, T-Rex used to hunt down the juvenile, sick, or newly hatched Triceratops for food. However, if the predator were hungry, then it wouldn’t think twice before killing an older triceratops as well. There were moments when the enormous dinosaurs did not have the option to be picky.

Most people think that the T-Rex from North America, which stands 40 feet tall and weighed 7 to 9 tons, was the biggest carnivorous dinosaur that might have walked on this planet. Perhaps you are even one of those people. Nevertheless, that is not the case. Two dinosaurs have outclassed T-Rex in terms of meat-eating. The Giganotosaurus from South America wins with a whopping weight of 10 tons. Also, the Spinosaurus from Northern Africa with a measurement of 10 tons. These three predators never got the chance to get into combat because they lived in different places and times, separated by thousands of years.

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One Compelling Bit To Remember

The research was conducted in 1996 by the Stanford University team that talked about the skull of a T-Rex. That study successfully determined that a T-Rex used to chomp on its prey. Furthermore, they used a significant force of around 1500 to 3000 pounds, every square inch compared to a modern alligator. Some other studies then put this noted figure within the 5000-pound bracket. It seems that the powerful jaw and teeth of a T-Rex can easily chomp off the horns of Ceratopsian with ease. There were very few, if anything, that could have escaped the strength of the Tyrannosaurus Rex jaw.

The former president of the American Museum of Natural History, Henry Fairfield Osborn, named this largest predator, Tyrannosaurus Rex, in 1905. In Greek, the term “Tyrannosaurus” literally translates into “tyrant lizard.” Rex is a Latin word that means “king.” So, T-Rex later came to be known as “Kind Of Tyrant Lizards” or the “Tyrant Lizard King.” Their name is not only referring to their incredible size but also their incredibly long teeth. The T. Rex had the strongest bite of any land animal that ever lived. The strength of their bite is equivalent to the force of a medium-sized elephant sitting down.

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The Defensive Behavior Of A T-Rex

Some scientists and researchers state that T-Rex might have been a solitary hunter, as there’s no fossil evidence that calls it otherwise. None of the fossils, as collected, support a pack hunting module. These large predators used to rely on their sharp teeth and powerful massive jaws and even clawed legs while attacking their prey. Virtually speaking, the tiny arms were pretty much useless. It might not come as much surprise that these massive animals were defensive. With little to no evidence to suggest that they hunted or lived in packs, it is pretty safe to assume they spent the majority of their time alone. As a result, they were not the most social animal.

Then some paleontologists stated that T-Rex used to bite its prey off and leave it to drain the blood out of its body and die eventually. It is mainly because of this predator’s septic bite. Later, the T-Rex would return to its original hunting place to feast on the animal. Among all the prey available, the three-horned carnivorous animal, Triceratops, is one main prey to consider. That’s why some residues of the crushed triceratops frill bone came into the limelight in the fossilized dung of a T-Rex. Other than that, there has been some evidence of one T-Rex fighting with another one. The famous Sue had some evidence of healed facial bites, which are probably from another T-Rex.

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A Fierce Reputation

Tyrannosaurus Rexes have a particular reputation to maintain. They are primarily known for their aggression and wide and sharp jaws. You might even picture them piercing and gripping the flesh of their prey with their long, dagger-like teeth. Tyrannosaurs have been said to be the most effective killing machine that ever stomped the Earth. However, you might be shocked to learn that some paleontologists have a very different theory about the giant animal’s behavior. One paleontologist who thoroughly studied the tooth marks made by a T. Rex on its prey’s bones believes there may have been a different motive. Instead of aggressive behavior, they are suggesting that the dinosaur may have been engaging in a playful side.

You have never heard of a dinosaur being playful if you are like me, especially not a Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, this detailed analysis suggests that the large animal engaged in certain behaviors for no apparent purpose other than to have a little bit of fun. When examining the bite marks, there were significant differences. The ones identified for feeding purposes were more likely to be from body parts with high meat or bone marrow content. In contrast, the other tooth-marked bones found in isolation were found on body parts that offered little to no nutritional value. They also did not display the same markings as those associated with feedings, such as skeleton dismemberment or splintered bones.

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Were Tyrannosaurus Playful Animals?

It can be challenging to determine the real personality and behaviors of animals that have been extinct for so long. However, to understand these historical animals, scientists and paleontologists have to look at all angles. They must use these items to try and piece it all together to the best of their abilities. Thankfully, dinosaur bones can be incredibly revealing. The differences in the types of bones and the marks on them helped provide important clues into the dinosaurs’ behaviors that made them. For instance, imagine you are eating a piece of chicken. You will likely avoid the cartilage at the end of the bone because it is not very tasty.

The bones found at dinosaur feeding sites display a similar pattern. When paleontologists look at the dinosaur’s bones, those that weren’t broken up helped them understand there would have been different behaviors. The paleontologists ruled out decay and weathering as the cause of the markings by previous studies. With all of that ruled out, there was only one conclusion. The activity that resulted in the tooth marks on the bones displays the dinosaurs had the potential to be playful animals. Although some paleontologists believe dinosaurs could be active like most other animals, others are still skeptical of this conclusion. They state that it is speculation and there is not enough evidence to back up the claim.

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Supporting The Scavenger Hypothesis

It was always stated that T-Rex is known to hunt its prey. According to others, T-Rexes were thought to be scavengers and not quite actively involved in the task of hunting. There have been multiple arguments to prove that T-Rex was really in the group of scavengers. When compared to some of the other predators, T-Rexes were known to have shorter arms. So, the arms were too short of grabbing their prey. Instead, they relied heavily on their strong jaws and long teeth. Some paleontologists even gave some examples of animals that never used their forelimbs for hunting down victims, such as seriemas, wolves, and more.

Later, it has been proven that using forearms is not the only way to catch prey, especially if you check out modern predators like Hyaenidae and canids. Moreover, T-Rexes were known to have larger olfactory bulbs. It means they used to have a higher sense of smell and could easily sniff the carcasses out from a distance, just like modern-day vultures. As vultures are scavengers, people believe T-Rexes to be the same. However, some scientists indicate that T-Rexes used this power of detecting smell to sense their prey’s scent. The smelling way cannot determine if the T-Rexes were hunters or scavengers, making it a debate topic so far.

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Research Values That Make A Difference

T-Rex’s teeth can easily crush bones and extract as much food as possible from the carcass remnants. Some researchers have found bone fragments in coprolites, stating that T-Rexes teeth were not designed to adapt to chewing bones, just like modern-day hyenas. Such bone-crushing bites might indicate that T-Rexes can fall within the predator category. Some evidence proves that the T-Rexes’ prey could move or run faster to get rid of their bites in some instances. It indicates that maybe T-Rexes are scavengers and not hunters. Again, another analysis states that even though T-Rexes were pretty massive and heavy, they used to run faster than some of the ceratopsians and larger hadrosaurs.

Their mouths were full of serrated teeth, with the largest tooth ever found to be 12 inches long. Can you imagine? One tooth was a foot long! Now that is scary. However, not all of their teeth were the same, and not all served the same function. For instance, their front teeth gripped and pulled their prey. On the other hand, their side teeth worked to tear the flesh, and their back teeth diced chunks of meat and forced food into their throat. More importantly, the Tyrannosaurus’s teeth were wide and somewhat dull. That is in comparison to them being flat and dagger-like. It allowed the teeth to withstand any forces exerted by struggling prey.

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Dinosaurs That Ruled Before T-Rexes

There have been some dinosaurs that lived a few years longer than T-Rexes. If you want to know more about those dinosaurs, make sure to keep an eye on some other options. Dryptosaurus was the first of the Tyrannosaur family and was founded in 1866 in the form of a partial skeleton in Garden State Marl Pit. This predatory dinosaur had a wickedly curved claw, which is enough to consider this dinosaur to be a destroyer. For decades, the identity of this predator remained unknown. Later, experts concluded by saying that this dinosaur was at least 68 million years old, with a height of 25 feet.

In addition to the Dryptosaurus, there were fossils found for the Tarbosaurus. This dinosaur was a carnivore that lived in the Cretaceous period and inhabited Asia. There have been fossils found in a variety of places, including China and Mongolia. The Tarbosaurus was a carnivore that existed over 83.6 million years ago. There have been 46 different specimens that paleontologists have found. If you can believe it, the Tarbosaurus had smaller arms than the Tyrannosaurus Rex! They have more than 60 knife-shaped teeth. Also, the Tarbosaurus weighs as much as an African elephant and as long as a train car.

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Other Dinos You Didn’t Know About

The root of tyrannosaurs goes way back to the time of Proceratosaurus. It was discovered in the year 1910 and is stated to be roughly 166 million years old. This dinosaur type was known for its smaller and elongated skull with a nasal horn on its end. The entire dinosaur was around 10 feet long, which is much smaller than T-Rex. Most tyrannosaurs were large predators with huge, high skulls more than three feet in length! If the animal stood upright on its hind legs, it would measure more than 21 feet tall. However, their typical posture was horizontal, with their body being carried parallel to the ground. Their tail was held off the ground as a counterbalance.

Another impressive dinosaur was known to have walked the planet before T-Rex was Dilong. It is a 125 million-year-old dinosaur and was what paleontologists thought early T-Rexes might have looked like when alive. Experts believe that T-Rexes were covered in not just scales but much more than that. That’s why some tyrants were pretty fluffy. So, the six-foot-tall Dilong might look quite different if placed with a T-Rex, but it had some similarity with a T-Rex as found in modern fossils. In comparison, Dilong dinosaurs were comparatively small, standing at about five feet tall. However, they are different in that they have proportionally larger forelimbs and three-fingered, grasping hands.

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Interesting Facts About The T. Rex

There are so many interesting facts associated with T-Rexes, and learning about each one will take a reasonable amount of time. However, this recent addition of tinier T-Rexes is causing a change in the world of prehistoric animal ideas that researchers garnered for such a long time. Going through the news and checking out multiple online platforms will help you learn more about this discovery. The Tyrannosaurus Rex is undoubtedly one of the most famous or widely known dinosaurs due to their high exposure in movies and stories. However, there are so many facts that people don’t know about this incredible creature.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex was one of the largest land predator dinosaurs. They were often used in movies due to their size and overall fearsome image. Their life span was roughly 30 years old. Interestingly, dinosaur has many similar features to birds. One initial thought is that they were warm-blooded, just like birds compared to being cold-blooded like reptiles. The Tyrannosaurus Rex could consume as much as 500 pounds of meat in a single bite. The Chicago museum purchased the famous Tyrannosaurus Sue fossil for a whopping eight million dollars! There are many neat facts about this incredible dinosaur.

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The Tiny T. Rex Helped Scientists Understand Many Things

When an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs over 66 million years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex stood about 12 feet tall. However, there were smaller Tyrannosaurs that roamed the Earth before it. A recently discovered specimen has helped scientists uncover the timeline and growth of the Tyrannosaurus Rexes and how they became the incredible dinosaur that we all know from those popular movies and films. Paleontologists have discovered Moros intrepidus, a tiny new species of Tyrannosaur in Utah who lived as far back as 96 million years ago! At the time of its death, the small dinosaur was roughly six to seven years old.

At six or seven years old, the dinosaur would have been considered almost a full-grown adult. When we picture a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex, I’m sure many of us see the image portrayed in films such as Jurassic Park. The dinosaur is massive, and you would not want to be caught near one, especially at feeding time. Therefore, you might be shocked to learn that the specimen that was uncovered stood at a mere three to four feet tall. Can you even wrap your head around an adult dinosaur so small? Even though it is impossible, it is one of those things you would have to see to believe.

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What Was Moros Like?

Now that we know that Moros intrepidus was so tiny, you might wonder what they were like on Earth. Were they as aggressive? Did they have the same jaw strength? Were their teeth as sharp? Did they hunt alone or in packs? There are so many questions that you might have about what they were like. What paleontologists do know is that Moros was lightweight and exceptionally fast. Moros intrepidus also had incredibly advanced sensory capabilities. Combined with their speed, they are intimidating predators. It is because they could have efficiently run down their prey while also avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day—the best of both worlds.

In addition to its lightning-fast speed, the Moros intrepidus was still equipped with bone-crunching bite forces. When scientists uncovered the fossil, they could place it within the family tree of Tyrannosaurs, which unveiled that its closest relatives were from Asia. The Tyrannosaurus Rex and its famous contemporaries such as Triceratops might be among the beloved cultural icons. However, we all owe their existence to their brave ancestors migrated here from Asia at least 30 million years prior. Moros intrepidus signals the establishment of the iconic Late Cretaceous ecosystems of North America. Moros intrepidus opened the door for scientists and paleontologists.

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Scientists Uncover Some Answers

It was often a mystery to scientists and paleontologists how the region’s Tyrannosaurus Rexes grew to be the incredible animals they were. That is due to the major gap in North America’s mid-Cretaceous fossil record. At the foundation of the era, Tyrannosaurs were nowhere near the size they are known for today. Instead of the large, intimidating animals with scary teeth and jaws, they were relatively small and often scrappy predators. Previously they did not hunt alone, but rather, they hunted alongside the larger carnivorous dinosaurs that are now known as allosaurus. Much is unknown about these incredible animals, but scientists do know they were not always their enormous size.

Approximately 80 million years ago, the North American allosaurus faded into the background, and Tyrannosaurs grew tenfold. Tyrannosaurs evolved so much that they took the allosaurus’ place as the top predator. The tiny fossils of Moros intrepidus suggest that North American Tyrannosaurs stayed small until at least the time that Moros appeared. It would mean that Tyrannosaurs grew into their famous sizes in just 16 million years. For paleontologists, this is considered a sprint in evolution. Paleontologists had been searching in the area for roughly ten years, and the bones of Moros intrepidus were the only ones that were recovered. It required a lot of patience, time, and even more amount of luck.

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The Important Discovery of the Moros intrepidus

You might wonder what the significance of Moros intrepidus’s discovery is. Most of us know that animals and even humans have evolved and adapted to our surroundings and environment. Therefore, why is Moros so important? Moros is essential due to the indication of an evolutionary sprint. It is the first hint of Tyrannosaurs that eventually transformed into the big ones we now see in movies and films. Also, Moros intrepidus mostly resembles the Tyrannosaurs that lived in Asia during the early Cretaceous period. It suggests that the ancestors of the tiny Moros intrepidus crossed a land bridge from Asia into North America.

The theory that the ancestors crossed the land bridge means it occurred as part of an exchange between their continents. It is also documented in other dinosaur species, so it is not a far-fetched idea. Paleontologists are familiar with the discovery and importance of Moros intrepidus; they hope that the incredible discovery opens more doors into the missing Cretaceous period. The hope is that there will be a continuing string of findings that reveal the lost Cretaceous ecosystem. That would be incredibly beneficial to scientists and paleontologists alike so they can understand how things have progressed and interacted over time.

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The Tiny One Was in Utah Before T. Rexes

If you are a fan of dinosaurs and Tyrannosaurs, there is hardly any better place to find them than Utah. The little Moros intrepidus remains were found in Emery County, Utah. The teeth and leg bones of the dinosaur mark it as part of the greater Tyrannosaur family. This discovery has helped close the gap in scientists’ understanding of these famous carnivores’ history. The tiny tyrants looked more like raptors than they did the dinosaurs that had become so accustomed to. They remained meek little hunters for tens of millions of years. Roughly 81 million years ago, the Tyrannosaurs took charge.

Recent discoveries in Asia have helped fill in the Tyrannosaur story there. However, paleontologists have not been as lucky in North America. Up until now, the Tyrannosaur record on our own continent went cold for roughly 60 million years. That is why Moros is so vital in this story. At approximately 96 million years old, Moros lived in the middle of this mysterious time in history and helps to provide a picture of what Tyrannosaurs were like before they came, the incredible animal we are all familiar with today. Moros was a tiny terror weighing in at about 170 pounds. It makes Moros one of the smallest Tyrannosaurs of the Cretaceous period.

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Moros intrepidus Helped Paleontologists Understand How They Grew So Big

Moros intrepidus is one of the smallest known dinosaurs of its kind. This fossil dates back to the Cretaceous period, which encompasses 66 million and 145 million years ago. What makes this incredible discovery so much more important is its dating. At 96 million years old, Moros is considered the oldest Cretaceous tyrannosaur skeleton found in the region. This finding pushes back the record by 15 million years! The discovery of Moros intrepidus helps paleontologists understand many things. That includes the who, what, why, where, and how Tyrannosaurs evolved to be the giants they are known today. Initially, the paleontologist team thought the Moros fossil belonged to a juvenile. However, upon further examination, the bone cross-sections showed their actual age.

The paleontologist team spent over a decade searching for the bones and fossils that would not only provide answers but the ones that would also change history. The discovery of Moros intrepidus was the only one found within that 10-year timeframe. Can you even fathom the amount of patience it would take to continue searching for a decade? The name Moros intrepidus means ‘Harbinger of Doom.’ Although these early Tyrannosaurs were small, they were primed to take advantage of new opportunities when warming temperatures, rising sea-levels, and shrinking ranges restructured ecosystems. It occurred at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.

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