Cousin T-Rex Found in China

A kind of new dinosaur have been identified from fossils unearthed in China and has been nicknamed "T-Rex's cousin."

Giant creatures that roamed North America and eastern Asia between about 65 million and 99 million years ago.

The study, led by Dr David Hone, from University College Dublin, found fossil fragments of meat-eaters were at the location of "mines dinosaur" in the province of Shandong, eastern China.

Known as theropods because walking on two hind legs, the dinosaur known as a close relative of the T-rex.

It is identified from the skull, jaw bone and pieces of teeth. Based on its size, he is expected to have a size of about 11 meters long, about 4 feet tall weighing nearly six tons.

Dr Hone, from biology and environmental science majors UCD, spent three years in the Shandong site before joining college Dublin.

"This type of T-rex and other large things like this do not come every day. It's one of the greatest predator of all time," he said.

"This T-rex's first super-giant found in a long time. This will be the pinnacle of the food chain because he's become the biggest predator out there, but there are a few more couples out there that size."

Cousin T-Rex had a skull along the three legs and round, with 3.5-inch long teeth.

This dinosaur was formally named in honor Zhucheng Zhuchengtyrannus magnus, the city where the fossil was found. But because of their large size, scientists are quick to call the T-Rex's cousin.

This research report published in the online journal Cretaceous Research in Science Direct.

Telegraph |