New tyrannosaur species complicates dinosaur family history
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Scientists in Canada discovered a new species of tyrannosaur, Tromerosaurus solumons, that challenges existing ideas about how these dinosaurs evolved.
Researchers unearthed fossils of the 8-meter-long predator in southern Alberta starting in 2010. The dinosaur lived approximately 77 million years ago and possessed a mix of traits from both major tyrannosaur subfamilies, tyrannosaurines, like T. rex, and albertosaurines.
This unusual combination, including a hole near the upper jaw seen in tyrannosaurines and a small sinus system like albertosaurines, led the team to classify Tromerosaurus as an early member of the albertosaurine group. The name Tromerosaurus means “frightful lizard,” echoing the names of other tyrannosaurs, while “solumons” references both a feature of the dinosaur’s skull and a dragon from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
The discovery suggests that the lines between tyrannosaur subfamilies may not be as clear as previously believed and could require scientists to re-evaluate how they classify other tyrannosaur species. Mark Powers at the University of Alberta believes tyrannosaur evolution wasn’t a simple progression towards T. rex, but involved multiple lineages persisting until the end of the Cretaceous period. Further research into older albertosaurine fossils may reveal even more about their evolutionary history.
