Nanotyrannus

A new study hopes to finally settle a debate that has been raging since 1988. The study focuses on a 23-inch-long dinosaur skull. Some believe it is a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex, but others believe it is its own distinct animal, known as Nanotyrannus lancensis.The study, which was published in the journal Fossil Studies this week, argues that the animal that many believed to be a teenage T. rex is its own distinction and that, based on the anatomical features, it might not even be particularly closely related to…

Artist illustration of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex. Credit: Raul MartinNanotyrannus was a smaller, longer-armed relative of T. rex, with a narrower snout.A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later reinterpreted as a young T. rex.The first skull of Nanotyrannus was found in Montana in 1942, but for decades,…