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Researchers Identify Dinosaur Species 5 Times Larger Than the T-Rex: 'This Is Very Exciting'
University of Calgary scientists discovered an apex predator that "probably kept the tyrannosaurus down" 90 million years ago
Science & Tech
Researchers have discovered a new species of dinosaur that loomed over Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The Calgary Herald reports that University of Calgary scientists helped identify the massive new species named Ulughbegasaurus, which roamed the earth as an apex predator 90 million years ago.
Researchers were able to identify the new species — which was five times bigger than the fearsome T-Rex — through the dinosaur's fossilized jaw, which was likely first found by a Russian paleontologist during a dig in the 1980s.
The fossil later caught the eye of researchers Dr. Kohei Tanaka and Darla Zelenitsky, a University of Calgary associate professor of paleontology. After Tanaka initially identified fossils from Ulughbegasaurus in 2019, the two scientists searched for another piece of the predator and found it in the previously unearthed jaw. After using 3-D modeling to link fossilized teeth to the jaw, they were able to identify the new species.
Zelenitsky said that Ulughbegasaurus was so large that they "probably kept the tyrannosaurus down" and "were obviously better apex predators."
Zelenitsky added, "The disappearance of (Ulughbegasaurus) likely allowed tyrannosaur species to become the apex predators of Asia and North America some 80 to 90 million years ago, who persisted in large forms like Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and T-Rex."
The scientist said that she was "surprised" they had only just identified "such a large predator" now, calling the discovery "very exciting."