Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex) is known as the top predator on Earth. But, in fact, there are dinosaurs who live long before the appearance of T-Rex.
Paleontologists from North Carolina State University, United States, have discovered the remains of a new species of giant killer dinosaur that lived on Earth 100 million years ago.
The new species was identified from the Siats meekerorum type. The name Siats itself comes from the original Ute legend of the Utah region, USA, which has the meaning of blood-thirsty creatures and human eaters, reported Science Recorder, Sunday (23/7).
According to paleontologists, the newly discovered carnivore dinosarus is estimated to weigh 3 tons and is almost the same length as the city bus.
It is the third largest of all dinosaurs found in North America.
"Fossil Siats meekerorum was found in the rocky slopes of Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, in 2008. It took two years to collect and analyze the bones scattered on the rocks," said Lindsay Zanno, a research leader from North Carolina State University.
He added, from the results of analysis of rock sampiments known that large bones have a 98-million-year-old age. In addition, the discovery of this fossil has filled a blank record for 30 million years from dinosaurs living in North America.
"Siats meekerorum is estimated to live 30 million years before the emergence of Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex) as one of the top killers on Earth," said Zanno.
The paleontologists also mentioned the cause of the giant size of this dinosaur probably because about 100 million years ago Earth was covered with lush vegetation and abundant prey.
"As time passes and some damage on Earth, Siats meekerorum began to evolve into T-Rex types as smaller predatory dinosaurs," says Peter J. Makovicky, Paleontologist at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, USA.
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