A New Type of T Rex

A remarkably complete tyrannosaur specimen was unearthed in the middle of Montana. It may finally settle one of the most contentious arguments in paleontology. While it’s at it, it might also upend our understanding of Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the most famous extinct animals on Earth.

The new fossil, along with others that had been assumed to be teenaged T. rex, are actually part of a distinct group called Nanotyrannus. Researchers had discovered differences in the bones, as well as evidence that the new fossil was a mature adult that had stopped growing, not an immature T. rex. The study also creates a more diverse picture of predators of the late Cretaceous by making the case that there were two species of nanotyrannus.

Originally, nanotyrannus were first identified as a separate species in the mid-1940s, but many came to believe they had been misclassified. They said the smaller versions were simply T. rex teenagers.

But if these were not teenagers, other questions arose: Did these different species interact? Did they hunt different prey? What did T. rex adolescence look like?

This paper states that Nanotyrannus is a distinct tyrannosaur species. Which indicates a reassessment of tyrannosaur classification is needed. Which is how science works.

For decades, nanotyrannus proponents had been marginalized by scientific consensus that they were young tyrannosaurs.

In a paper published in 1946, Smithsonian paleontologist Charles Gilmore described a new carnivorous dinosaur whose skull was found in Montana. At the time, he described it as a Gorgosaurus, a slightly smaller species of tyrannosaur. Four decades later, the skull was reanalyzed and a new paper proclaimed it a nanotyrannus.

Nanotyrannus lancensis was less than half the length of T. rex, although it was a relatively long-limbed animal. It is thought it would have been more graceful, not like the stocky, stomping brute of a T. rex.

Thomas Carr suggested in 1999 that nanotyrannus were simply youthful T. rex, and that explanation took hold.

In 2021, a North Carolina Museum acquired a 30,000 pound slug of bone and rock. They thought it contained a juvenile T. rex and a triceratops that had been buried together in Montana. Soon, they realized it was not a juvenile because its hand was really big. Far bigger than the hand of a fully grown T. rex.

A detailed analysis of the fossil found distinctive differences, such as the way cranial nerves threaded through the skull and the patterns of sinuses in the skull. Then, they cut into a limb bones, where the growth rings showed it to be about 20 years old, and it was a mature individual that had stopped growing… at less than half the length of a full-grown T. rex.

So they reexamined 120 existing fossils. One (called Jane) was assumed to be a young T. rex. She was a nanotyrannosaur, but a different species than the others they were studying.

So, kids can still have a favorite dinosaur, even a favorite tyrannosaur. It just might not be the well-known tyrannosaurus rex.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/one-of-science-s-biggest-dinosaur-debates-may-finally-be-settled/ar-AA1PvttY?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6904de58713a4fa5aca269a56dd9bb74&ei=71

Ancient Humans in Antarctica

For decades, Antarctica was thought to be untouched by ancient humans. It was too cold, too remote, and too unforgiving. But a recent discovery shattered that misconception.

Along the Antarctic Peninsula, researchers have uncovered bone fragments embedded in permafrost. They have been dated to nearly 6,000 years ago, which is before any known human presence. This suggests that ancient seafaring cultures may have ventured farther south than imagined. The remains have been carbon dated, their DNA analyzed, and archaeologically mapped.

The DNA analysis closely matched the lineage of Indigenous populations from southern Chile and Argentina. These groups were known for advanced maritime travel and seasonal movement across the Drake Passage, which is the body of water between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica.

Conventional reasoning said the early seafaring civilizations stayed within warm, resource-rich regions. But this evidence suggests ancient explorers mastered polar navigation long before compasses or maps existed. They must have understood ocean currents, seasonal weather, and animal migrations. Since these remains were found alongside marine mammal bones, they may have followed their food supply.

Found scatter near the remains were stone blades, carved bone tools, and traces of pigments. The suggest planned travel and possibly ritual practices. The tools are similar to those used by early South American coastal tribes for seal processing and navigation. It’s likely this journey wasn’t a fluke or a storm-driven drift, but a deliberate venture.

About 6,000 years ago, sea ice along the Antarctic Peninsula had retreated farther than today, which could have allowed ancient navigators to reach new hunting grounds. The Antarctic environment was less hostile, with milder summer and exposed coastlines. Such windows of opportunity might explain how humans reached Antarctica so long ago.

Finding humans so far south means migration wasn’t limited by temperature or geography but was driven by adaptability.

Radar imaging and satellite mapping have noted irregular formations beneath coastal ice layers, which may be more archaeological sites. Researchers are targeting zones once exposed during early Holocene warm periods. Each new site could rewrite another fragment of human history.

For centuries, legends in South America spoke of southern lands rich with seals and icy seas. These tales were dismissed—until now. Those stories may have been ancestral memories of real journeys.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/the-oldest-human-remains-in-antarctica-just-changed-what-scientists-thought-they-knew/ss-AA1OTxa5?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6906581e6d084590bb311d75d21e1da4&ei=71#image=10