MeetQianzhousaurus sinensis , the newly chance on relative of the iconicTyrannosaurus rex . This smaller , but by no way less terrifying , dinosaur roamed the Earth aboard itsT. rexcousin during the Late Cretaceous period approximately 66 million old age ago . Its characteristic long snout has earned it the nickname “ Pinocchio rex ” . The discovery has been described in the journalNature Communications .
Two fossilized tyrannosaur with lengthened neb had been notice previously , both of which were members of theAlioramusgenus that roamed the Late Cretaceous . Both specimens were juvenile person , however , which intend that scientists were unsure as to whether they were really a new social class of dinosaur , or whether they just had n’t produce into their adult snouts yet . The fresh discovered dodo , however , wasdouble the sizeof theAlioramusspecimens and was close to maturity , which serve as confirmation that long - snouted tyrannosaurs truly be .
Scientists stumbled upon this remarkably well preserved specimen at a structure situation in an area of southern China called Ganzhou , which the novel species has been make after ; Qianzhou is theancient namefor Ganzhou . Approximately9 metersin length and weighing in at around 800 kilograms , Q. sinensiswas smaller than the 13 meterT. rex , and was strikingly different in show . Thesedinosaurspossessed an elongated skull with long , narrow teeth in direct contrast to the stouter jaws of theT. rexwhich were lined with much thicker tooth .
These dinosaur might have wandered Asia during the belated Cretaceous with theT. rex , but they in all likelihood would n’t have contend for food source since it was potential that they targeteddifferent quarry . The more herculean jaws of theT. rexwould have allowed these dinosaurs to go after larger , more challenging quarry .
Scientists predict that they may ascertain more long - snouted tyrannosaurus , so they have created a new branch of the tyrannosaur kin which includesQ. sinensisand both of theAlioramusspecies .
“ This is a different stock of tyrannosaur,”says Dr Steve Brusatte , University of Edinburgh , and one of the source of the report . “ It might have looked a little comical , but it would have been as lethal as any other tyrannosaur , and mayhap even a trivial faster and stealthier . ”
