Archaeologists have found the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex dodo ever in the southwestern US , dating back 76 million years .
The metal money isTeratophoneus curriei , and is think to have been one of the first tyrannosaurs to walk across North America during theLate Cretaceous Period . That dates back 90 to 66 million years ago , when the age of the dinosaurs was brought to an end by an asteroid impact .
It was found in July 2015 by Dr Alan Titus , a palaeontologist at the the Bureau of Land Management ’s Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument ( GSENM ) in the Kaiparowits Formation in southern Utah . It ’s thought this tyrannosaur was buried in a river channel or by a implosion therapy event , which has kept it outstandingly intact .
This finical determination looks like a immature grownup , about 12 to 15 old age old . It measures 5.2 to 6.1 meters ( 17 to 20 foot ) long , and it has a shorter head than northerly tyrannosaurs . What was particularly telling , though , is that three - quarter of this brute ’s bone were preserved . This include the skull , which is about complete .
" With at least 75 per centum of its bones preserved , this is the most over frame of a tyrannosaur ever discovered in the southwest US , " state Dr Randall Irmis from the University of Utah in astatement . " We are eager to get a close look at this dodo to learn more about the southerly tyrannosaur ’s anatomy , biology , and development . "
minuscule has been known about tyrannosaurs in the southerly US until now because most have been found in the Great Plains in the northern US and Canada . This discovery should help palaeontologist process out the history of tyrannosaurs in the South .
The team are not yet sure if this metal money is new , or an soul of Teratophoneus . They hope to find out by looking at the size of the dodo , its growth radiation pattern , and its biology . This will say them how it run , how fast it could course , and how it ate .
“ The possibilities are endless and exciting , ” read Irmis .
