King of Gore Dinosaur Unearthed in Utah
Posted on November 7, 2013
A newly discovered dinosuar, Lythronax argestes, has been discovered in Southern Utah. The fossil was unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The name Lythronax means King of Gore. The dinosaur belongs on the same evolutionary branch as Tyrannosaurs Rex. The fossil of the dinosaur is now on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah at the Rio Tinto Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The research was led by Dr. Mark Loewen, research associate at the Natural History Museum of Utah, and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah.
Lythronax is the geologically-oldest tyrannosaurid dinosaur ever discovered at 80 million years old. Some of the unique features found in Lythronax include a short narrow snout with a wide back of the skull with forward-oriented eyes.
Dr. Loewen says, "The width of the back of the skull of Lythronax allowed it to see with an overlapping field of view - giving it the binocular vision - very useful for a predator and a condition we associate with T. rex."
Take a look:
The researchers believe tyrannosaurids originated in northern Laramidia (an island continent in western North America), with multiple species moving into southern Laramidia over time. The research paper was published here in PLoS One.
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