New predatory dinosaur discovered in Utah
QMI AGENCY
First posted: Friday, November 22, 2013 10:09 AM EST
A new predatory dinosaur that walked the Earth approximately 100 million years ago has been discovered in the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah.
The new dinosaur is the first of its kind to be discovered in North America, researchers say in the Friday issue of Nature Communications.
Called the Siats meekerorum, the giant predator was more than 30 feet long and weighed more than four tonnes.
Despite its size, researchers say it is not a relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but belongs to the carchardontosaurian group of predatory dinosaurs, which includes the Argentinean Giganotosaurus.
The dinosaur was discovered in 2008 by researchers at The Field Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University.
Lead study author Lindsay Zanno said researchers are still working in the area.
"Siats is just the tip of the iceberg; our teams are unearthing a lost dinosaurian ecosystem right here in the badlands of western North America," Zanno said.
An illustration of Siats meekerorum, a new dinosaur found in Utah. Illustration by Jorge Gonzales. The new dinosaur is the first of its kind to be discovered in North America. The study appears in the Nov. 22, 2013 issue of Nature Communications.
New predatory dinosaur discovered in Utah | World | News | Toronto Sun
QMI AGENCY
First posted: Friday, November 22, 2013 10:09 AM EST
A new predatory dinosaur that walked the Earth approximately 100 million years ago has been discovered in the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah.
The new dinosaur is the first of its kind to be discovered in North America, researchers say in the Friday issue of Nature Communications.
Called the Siats meekerorum, the giant predator was more than 30 feet long and weighed more than four tonnes.
Despite its size, researchers say it is not a relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but belongs to the carchardontosaurian group of predatory dinosaurs, which includes the Argentinean Giganotosaurus.
The dinosaur was discovered in 2008 by researchers at The Field Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University.
Lead study author Lindsay Zanno said researchers are still working in the area.
"Siats is just the tip of the iceberg; our teams are unearthing a lost dinosaurian ecosystem right here in the badlands of western North America," Zanno said.
An illustration of Siats meekerorum, a new dinosaur found in Utah. Illustration by Jorge Gonzales. The new dinosaur is the first of its kind to be discovered in North America. The study appears in the Nov. 22, 2013 issue of Nature Communications.
New predatory dinosaur discovered in Utah | World | News | Toronto Sun
