'King of gore' dino is T. rex's oldest known cousin

[Buster's Uncle]

'King of gore' dino is T. rex's oldest known cousin
AFP
4 hours ago



A paleontologist prepares and assembles the fossils Tyrannosaurus rex in Los Angeles on March 27, 2008 (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)



Washington (AFP) - A new species of tyrannosaur has been unearthed in Utah, with skull bones showing an 80 million-year-old beast that is the oldest known cousin of the legendary T. rex.

The meat-eating Lythronax argestes, which means "king of gore," had wide-set eyes that helped it track prey and a load of teeth packed into a more slender snout than the T. rex's, researchers said in the journal PLoS ONE.

The Lythronax was among the lighter, more compactly built tyrannosaurids, and may have been about half as heavy as the largest T. rex.

The beast weighed about 2.5 tonnes and was 24 feet long (eight meters), said the research team led by Mark Loewen, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah.

Its bones -- including parts of the skull, hips, leg and tail -- were found in the Wahweap Formation within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in south-central Utah.

"The width of the back of the skull of Lythronax allowed it to see with an overlapping field of view—giving it the binocular vision— very useful for a predator and a condition we associate with T. rex," said Loewen.

It was also as older -- T. rex roamed the Earth about 10-12 million years later, researchers said.

Tyrannosaurids ran upright on two legs and had short arms, and were renowned for attacking other dinosaurs as well as scavenging the carcasses of dead animals for food.

Researchers said they likely originated in northern Laramidia, then a swampy and humid island which is now western North America.

Several species likely moved south over time, while others made their way toward Asia 70-75 million years ago.





http://news.yahoo.com/king-gore-dino-t-rexs-oldest-known-cousin-183513837.html

[Unorthodox]

Great name. 

[Buster's Uncle]

New tyrannosaur discovered in southern Utah
Associated Press
By BRADY McCOMBS 1 hour ago



This artist's rendering released by the Natural History Museum of Utah, shows a newly-discovered dinosaur, Lythronax argestes, whose fossils have been found in southern Utah. Paleontologists say this proves giant tyrant dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex were around 10 million years earlier than previously believed. (AP Photo/Natural History Museum of Utah, Audrey Atuchin)



SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Paleontologists on Wednesday unveiled a new dinosaur discovered four years ago in southern Utah that proves giant tyrant dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex were around 10 million years earlier than previously believed.

A full skeletal replica of the carnivore — the equivalent of the great uncle of the T. rex — was on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah alongside a 3-D model of the head and a large painted mural of the dinosaur roaming a shoreline.

It was the public's first glimpse at the new species, which researchers named Lythronax argestes (LY'-throw-nax ar-GES'-tees). The first part of the name means "king of gore," and the second part is derived from poet Homer's southwest wind.

The fossils were found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in November 2009, and a team of paleontologists spent the past four years digging them up and traveling the world to confirm they were a new species.

Paleontologists believe the dinosaur lived 80 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period on a landmass in the flooded central region of North America.

The discovery offers valuable new insight into the evolution of the ferocious tyrannosaurs that have been made famous in movies and captured the awe of school children and adults alike, said Thomas Holtz Jr., a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Maryland department of geology.



This photo released by the Natural History Museum of Utah shows the fossilized skeleton


"This shows that these big, banana-tooth bruisers go back to the very first days of the giant tyrant dinosaurs," said Holtz, who reviewed the findings. "This one is the first example of these kind of dinosaurs being the ruler of the land."

The new dinosaur likely was a bit smaller than the Tyrannosaurus rex but was otherwise similar, said Mark Loewen, a University of Utah paleontologist who co-authored a journal article about the discovery with fellow University of Utah paleontologist Randall Irmis.

It was 24 feet long and 8 feet tall at the hip, and was covered in scales and feathers, Loewen said. Asked what the carnivorous dinosaur ate, Loewen responded: "Whatever it wants."

"That skull is designed for grabbing something, shaking it to death and tearing it apart," he said.

The fossils were found by a seasonal paleontologist technician for the Bureau of Land Management who climbed up two cliffs and stopped at the base of a third in the national monument.



This image released by the Natural History Museum of Utah shows a model of a newly-discovered dinosaur


"I realized I was standing with bone all around me," said Scott Richardson, who called his boss, Alan Titus, to let him know about the fossils.

Loewen and others spent three years traveling the world to compare the fossils to other dinosaurs to be absolutely sure it was a new species. The findings are being published in the journal PLOS One.

The fossils were found in a southern Utah rock formation that also has produced the oldest-known triceratops, named "Diabloceratops," and other dome-headed and armored dinosaurs.

There are about 1 million acres of cretaceous rocks that could be holding other new species of dinosaurs, said Titus, the BLM paleontologist who oversees the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Only about 10 percent of the rock formation has been scoured, he said. Twelve other new dinosaurs found there are waiting to be named.

"We are just getting started," Titus said. "We have a really big sandbox to play in."

Holtz said the finding is a testament to the bounty of fossils lying in the earth in North America. He predicts more discoveries in Utah.

"It shows we don't have to go to Egypt or Mongolia or China to find new dinosaurs," Holtz said. "It's just a matter of getting the field teams out."





http://news.yahoo.com/tyrannosaur-discovered-southern-utah-195305192.html

[Unorthodox]

The fossils were found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in November 2009

So...um...why's it news now? 


Anyhow, I hope Herschell Gordon Lewis (father of splatter films) has one film left in him and utilizes this new dinosaur. 

[Buster's Uncle]

News now because they made a big announcement now.

[Buster's Uncle]

Scientists say new dinosaur found in Utah is relative of T. rex
Reuters
By Laila Kearney 11 hours ago



Skeleton of a Lythronax argestes is seen in this handout image from the Natural History Museum of Utah



(Reuters) - Scientists in Utah say they have discovered Tyrannosaurus rex's "great-uncle," a massive predator with a thick skull and large teeth dubbed the "king of gore."

Bones of the 24-foot (7.3-meter) -long dinosaur, slightly smaller than T. rex and older by about 10 million years, were unveiled at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, and an announcement of the species discovery was published in the scientific journal Plos One.

Scientists hope the find will help them better understand the ecosystem where the predator roamed.

Discovered by workers for the Federal Bureau of Land Management in eastern Utah in 2009, scientists named the animal Lythronax argestes, or "king of gore," for its large teeth and apparent dominance as a predator.

"Discovering the Lythronax pushes back the evolution of the group that gives rise to T. rex, which is something we didn't understand before," said Mark Loewen, a geologist at the University of Utah, who led the dig for the new dinosaur. "Lythronax is like the great-uncle of T. rex."



An undated artist rendering of a Lythronax argestes is seen in this handout image


Paleontologists have thought that members of the group with characteristics like T. rex - large bodies, tiny arms, thick skulls and forward facing eyes - dated as far back as 70 million years, but the Lythronax shows signs of being at least 80 million years old.

Like its relative, the Lythronax is believed to have been the top predator of its time, roaming a stretch of land from Mexico to Alaska, including parts of Utah, during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period.

"The really cool thing is that this shows that the origins of the last known tyrannosaurs were in the southern part of North America as opposed to Asia or far North America," as previously thought, said Andrew Farke, curator at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology in Claremont, California.

Photos of the fossil remains of the newly discovered species were sent to Loewen and his team soon after they were discovered at the southern end of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, on the Utah-Colorado border.

The group spent the following two years retrieving, preserving and assembling the bones. Then, they traveled to locations where other bones from the tyrannosaur group were being studied, including China; Birmingham, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; and New York.



An undated artist rendering of a Lythronax argestes is seen in this handout image


The Lythronax bones were set between layers of volcanic ash, which allowed scientists to determine the age of the dinosaur by studying the decomposition of the ash crystals that surrounded them.

"This sort of discovery is very interesting and exciting because it's not just another animal from that era but a large predator from that era," said paleontologist Peter Roopnarine, who studies the ecology of dinosaur periods for the California Academy of Sciences.

Roopnarine said being able to learn about the Lythronax will reveal more about the ecosystem at the time of its reign.

"This is going to change our understanding of this older ecosystem," Roopnarine said.


http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-dinosaur-found-utah-relative-t-rex-030514993.html