The British royal family isn't the only one welcoming a new addition today.
In new research published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, paleontologists announced they've identified a new type of dinosaur related to the Tyrannosaurus rex, this one standing just under three feet tall. The new species is called Suskityrannus hazelae, named after the word for "coyote" in Zuni, the indigenous language where the fossils were first discovered in New Mexico, the familiar root "tyrannus" meaning king, and Hazel Wolfe, a supporter of fossil expedition, Gizmodo explained.
While other T. rex-like dinosaurs have been discovered before, this is thought to be the one that's closest to the well-known species. Suskityrannus would have been in its prime about 92 million years ago, 27 million years before the reign of T. rex. While it's not a direct ancestor, it is certainly helping scientists better understand how T. rex evolved. Because Suskityrannus is so small compared to its larger relative — the entire body is just a bit larger than a T. rex skull — it can shed some light on the way that tyrannosaurids evolved to be so large in the first place.
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Suskityrannus had "long feet, a strong bite, and sharp, serrated teeth," Gizmodo reported. While we don't have a complete skeleton, and thus don't know everything about its biology, what we have is enough to paint a picture of a formidable carnivore that may have worn the crown before T. rex was king. Learn more at Gizmodo.
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