{"id":9936,"date":"2020-02-27T11:03:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T16:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=9936"},"modified":"2020-02-27T11:03:45","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T16:03:45","slug":"new-species-of-tyrannosaurus-discovered-in-alberta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=9936","title":{"rendered":"New species of tyrannosaurus discovered in Alberta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thanatotheristes<\/em> \u2014 meaning \u201creaper of death\u201d \u2014 is the first tyrannosaur species identified in Canada in 50 years<\/h3>\n

Canadian Geographic Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

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An artist\u2019s rendering of how Thanatotheristes might have looked when it ruled the Alberta wilderness 79 million years ago. (Illustration: Julius Csotonyi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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By <\/span>Meral Jamal,\u00a0<\/a><\/span>February 19, 2020<\/span><\/div>\n
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Paleontologists at the University of Calgary and the Royal Tyrrell Museum have discovered a new species of predatory dinosaur in Alberta.<\/p>\n

Called Thanatotheristes<\/em>, which means \u201creaper of death,\u201d the 79-million-year-old fossil is the oldest known tyrannosaur from North America and the first tyrannosaur species identified in Canada in 50 years.<\/p>\n

Jared Voris, study lead author and a PhD student under University of Calgary professor Darla Zelenitsky, says he identified the new species because of unique features such as the ridges along its jawline.<\/p>\n

The fragmentary fossil that Voris studied consisted of parts of a skull and jaw bones that were originally found by John and Sandra De Groot in 2010 about 200 kilometres southeast of Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re vertical ridges that run the whole length of the jaw that we have, and there\u2019s only a single row of them,\u201d says Voris.<\/p>\n

What makes these ridges unique is that only one other group of tyrannosaurs have similar ridges, but they weren\u2019t in North America at the time, Voris adds.<\/p>\n

\"Thanatotheristes\"<\/p>\n

A closeup rendering of Thanatotheristes<\/em>\u2019 head, showing the vertical jaw ridges that helped scientists confirm it as a new species of tyrannosaur. (Illustration: Julius Csotonyi)<\/div>\n

According to Zelenitsky, the discovery of this species tells us a lot about the ecosystem of the time as well. She says the differences in size, shape and other physical features among tyrannosaurs may be a result of adaptations to different geographical regions and environments, available prey and hunting strategies.<\/p>\n

Alberta in the time of Thanatotheristes<\/em> would likely have had a subtropical, temperate climate, similar to Louisiana today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis discovery is significant in that it adds to what we know about this poorly-known ecosystem in the Late Cretaceous of Alberta,\u201d says Zelenitsky.<\/p>\n

In this lush, biodiverse environment, Thanatotheristes<\/em> would have been the apex predator, says Caleb Brown, study co-author and a curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been the big carnivore at the time. It would have fed on things like duck-billed dinosaurs and horn dinosaurs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Darla
University of Calgary professor Darla Zelenitsky and PhD student Jared Voris with fossil fragments of\u00a0Thanatotheristes.\u00a0(Photo: Royal Tyrrell Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Citizen scientists essential to further discoveries<\/h3>\n

According to Brown, the most intriguing thing about the research is what more could have been known about Thanatotheristes<\/em> had the fossils been better preserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe specimen De Groot found obviously came from a skull that would have been completely put together at some point,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat intrigues me is what would have happened if the specimen was found 20, 50 or 100 years ago. How much more complete would it have been, and how much more of the animal would we have known?\u201d<\/p>\n

Zelenitsky says the only way to know more is to keep looking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is that a lot of these animals or species just aren\u2019t preserved or haven\u2019t been found yet by a paleontologist,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Brown agrees, adding that ordinary citizens can contribute by keeping an eye out for what they think could be fossils.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our really important scientific discoveries in the last several decades have been made by members of the public and this is no exception,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor every paleontologist, there are millions of people around, walking their dog, going for hikes, fishing in the river. If you find something you think is interesting, it probably is, so take a picture and report that to a museum because you might end up finding a new species of dinosaur like John De Groot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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