Newly discovered ‘Dragon Prince’ dinosaur is crucial ancestor of T rex
Dinosaur fossils found in 1970s are missing link in evolution of T rex
- A newly discovered dinosaur from Mongolia, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, or "Dragon Prince," is considered a crucial ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus rex (T rex), providing insights into the T rex's evolutionary history.
- Khankhuuluu lived approximately 86 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, predating the Tyrannosaurus by about 20 million years; it was a mid-sized dinosaur, about 13 feet long, weighing around 1,600 pounds, and likely hunted smaller prey.
- Paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky notes that Khankhuuluu, meaning "Dragon Prince," was named to reflect its status as a smaller, earlier form that had not yet evolved into a king, unlike the Tyrannosaurus rex, which means "tyrant king of the lizards."
- Researchers determined Khankhuuluu's anatomy from fossils found in the 1970s, revealing it shared anatomical traits with tyrannosaurs but lacked certain defining characteristics, indicating it was a predecessor and a transitional animal between smaller forerunners and later true tyrannosaurs.
- According to University of Calgary doctoral student Jared Voris, Khankhuuluu demonstrates that the ancestors to the tyrannosaurs lived in Asia, later crossing a land bridge to North America and evolving into apex predatory tyrannosaurs, eventually leading to the emergence of T rex.