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Tag: dinosaur fossil

  • New Dinosaur Species Related To Tyrannosaurus Rex

    The discovery of a new dinosaur is always exciting, especially when the new species turns out to be a cousin of the ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex. The new species was named Lythronax Argestes and was discovered in 2009. Scientists have been studying it ever since. The fossil of the new dinosaur species was discovered in Utah and has a similar appearance to its T-Rex cousin.

    The species is believed to have lived around 80 millions years ago. The group of researchers who were studying the fossil have finally finished identifying and preparing it and recently released information about the dinosaur and where and how it may have lived.

    Lythronax Argestes lived during the Late Cretaceous Period and like his big cousin, he was a meat eater. According to researchers, it is the oldest tyrannosaurid ever found.

    Randall Irmis, of the Natural History Museum of Utah, in Salt Lake City said, “We think that when the sea levels were high, [the waters] actually moved inland and isolated different areas of land and allowed the dinosaurs living in those diff areas to evolve separately, and that’s why we have so many different species.”

    Scientists know that there were many different tyrannosaurid species, and fossils of only a few have been found. They are hoping to uncover more new tyrannosaurids in the future. In the mean time, if you want to see the fossil of this one, you will have to visit the Natural History Museum of Utah, where the fossil with be displayed.

    Image from Wikimedia Commons.

  • Dinosaur Tail Fossil Found In Canada

    Dinosaur Tail Fossil Found In Canada

    Everyone loves a good dinosaur tale but how about an actual dinosaur tail? A construction worker operating a backhoe discovered he had hit a fossil while digging. Once the fossil was inspected closely, it was revealed to be a large piece of tail.

    If the backhoe driver had not have stopped digging he did, he could have damaged the delicate fossil. Fossils must be removed very carefully and if they are not handled with care, they can easily crumble.
    Luckily, he stopped as soon as he realized what he was digging was not dirt and the crew called around to get someone experienced with fossils on the scene.

    When dinosaur fossils are found, they are usually broken or only found one small piece at a time. The fact that this is a large piece of a tail in one place, makes this fossil truly special.

    Paleontologist Matthew Vavrek inspected the tail and said, “As we walked around it, we saw this whole part of a tail of a dinosaur. To see something like that is pretty incredible.”

    “The last time I’ve seen something like that was in a museum. I’ve never found something like this before.”

    The Tourmaline Oil Corp, the company responsible for digging on the site where the fossil was discovered, will be helping Vavrek carefully dig up the tail and any other fossils that are nearby. They are hoping to uncover an entire dinosaur.Because the tail is so long, Vavrek believes the dinosaur it belonged to was likely on the larger size. It can take several weeks or even months to completely uncover the fossil, depending on the weather. The fossil was found in Canada which is already seeing snowfall. If the ground freezes, the crew will have to wait until it unthaws to remove the dinosaur from the site.

    Image from Digital Journal.