Smaller cousin of T Rex discovered in Alaska

A study published on 12 March 2014 says about the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, the smaller cousin of Tyrannosaurus Rex (T Rex) in Alaska. The scientists have named the dwarf Rex as Nanuqsaurus hoglundi and they believe that they lived in Alaska about 70 million years ago.

The discovery of the new species was mentioned by the co-authors Anthony Fiorillo and Ronald S. Tykoski from Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Texas and their colleagues after they analyzed the partial skull roof, jaw and maxilla of the skull that was recovered from Prince Creek Formation in Alaska and then compared the fossils to known tyrannosaurine species. Till now it was believed to belong to a different species.

As per the study, the recovered skull is relatively small with skull length of 25 inches as compared to 60 inches of T Rex. The study also suggests that this species inhabited in seasonally extreme high-latitude continental environment on the northernmost edge of Cretaceous North America.

As per the study, the researchers and scientists think that this discovery would provide insights into the adaptability and evolution of tyrannosaurs in a different environment, the Arctic. Till now, majority of information about Tyrannosaurs mainly were derived from the fossils found in South of North America and Asia. 

The finding was published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Earlier, in November 2013 the scientists discovered a new species of dinosaur, which was among the three largest discoveries in North America, which existed along with small-bodied tyrannosaurs.