Babies from famed carnivorous dinosaur group were 'born ready' to hunt

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,002
113
Babies from famed carnivorous dinosaur group were 'born ready' to hunt
Reuters
Will Dunham
Jan 26, 2021 • 4 minutes ago • 1 minute read
A baby tyrannosaur from the Cretaceous Period of North America, based on partial fossils unearthed in the U.S. state of Montana and in Alberta, is seen in an undated artist's rendition. Photo by Julius Csotonyi /Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON — Scientists for the first time have found embryonic remains from the group of ferocious meat-eating dinosaurs that includes T. rex – fossilized jaw and claw bones that show these record-size babies looked a lot like adults and were “born ready” to hunt.
The fossils, the researchers said on Tuesday, represented two species from the group called tyrannosaurs, the apex predators in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period toward the end of the dinosaur age.
The bones indicated that these were bigger than any other known dinosaur babies – three feet (1 metre) long, or the size of a medium dog – and hatched from what must have been enormous eggs, perhaps exceeding the 17-inch (43-cm) length of the largest dinosaur eggs currently known.
The roughly 77 million-year-old jawbone, about 1.2 inches (3 cm) in length, was unearthed in Montana and may belong to a species called Daspletosaurus. The roughly 72 million-year-old wedge-shaped claw came from Canada’s Alberta province and may belong to a species called Albertosaurus.
Both are slightly smaller cousins of Tyrannosaurus rex. The largest-known tyrannosaurs topped 40 feet (12 metres) long and 8 tons in weight.
An illustration shows the silhouettes of two baby tyrannosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of North America based on partial fossils unearthed in the U.S. state of Montana and Alberta, with the silhouettes of University of Edinburgh scientist Greg Funston and an adult Albertosaurus shown to provide a size comparison. Photo by Greg Funston/University of Edinburgh /Handout via REUTERS
The jaw possesses distinctive tyrannosaur traits, including a deep groove inside and a prominent chin.
University of Edinburgh paleontologist Greg Funston, lead author of the research published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, said the scientists were amazed at how similar the embryonic bones were to older juvenile and adult tyrannosaurs and noted that the jaws boasted functional teeth.
“So although we can’t get a complete picture, what we can see looks very similar to the adults,” Funston said.
It appears that tyrannosaurs, Funston added, were “born ready to hunt, already possessing some of the key adaptations that gave tyrannosaurs their powerful bites. So it’s likely that they were capable of hunting fairly quickly after birth, but we need more fossils to tell exactly how fast that was.”
1611702732369.png1611704466191.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goober and Mowich

Mowich

Hall of Fame Member
Dec 25, 2005
16,649
998
113
74
Eagle Creek
Babies from famed carnivorous dinosaur group were 'born ready' to hunt
Reuters
Will Dunham
Jan 26, 2021 • 4 minutes ago • 1 minute read
A baby tyrannosaur from the Cretaceous Period of North America, based on partial fossils unearthed in the U.S. state of Montana and in Alberta, is seen in an undated artist's rendition. Photo by Julius Csotonyi /Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON — Scientists for the first time have found embryonic remains from the group of ferocious meat-eating dinosaurs that includes T. rex – fossilized jaw and claw bones that show these record-size babies looked a lot like adults and were “born ready” to hunt.
The fossils, the researchers said on Tuesday, represented two species from the group called tyrannosaurs, the apex predators in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period toward the end of the dinosaur age.
The bones indicated that these were bigger than any other known dinosaur babies – three feet (1 metre) long, or the size of a medium dog – and hatched from what must have been enormous eggs, perhaps exceeding the 17-inch (43-cm) length of the largest dinosaur eggs currently known.
The roughly 77 million-year-old jawbone, about 1.2 inches (3 cm) in length, was unearthed in Montana and may belong to a species called Daspletosaurus. The roughly 72 million-year-old wedge-shaped claw came from Canada’s Alberta province and may belong to a species called Albertosaurus.
Both are slightly smaller cousins of Tyrannosaurus rex. The largest-known tyrannosaurs topped 40 feet (12 metres) long and 8 tons in weight.
An illustration shows the silhouettes of two baby tyrannosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of North America based on partial fossils unearthed in the U.S. state of Montana and Alberta, with the silhouettes of University of Edinburgh scientist Greg Funston and an adult Albertosaurus shown to provide a size comparison. Photo by Greg Funston/University of Edinburgh /Handout via REUTERS
The jaw possesses distinctive tyrannosaur traits, including a deep groove inside and a prominent chin.
University of Edinburgh paleontologist Greg Funston, lead author of the research published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, said the scientists were amazed at how similar the embryonic bones were to older juvenile and adult tyrannosaurs and noted that the jaws boasted functional teeth.
“So although we can’t get a complete picture, what we can see looks very similar to the adults,” Funston said.
It appears that tyrannosaurs, Funston added, were “born ready to hunt, already possessing some of the key adaptations that gave tyrannosaurs their powerful bites. So it’s likely that they were capable of hunting fairly quickly after birth, but we need more fossils to tell exactly how fast that was.”
View attachment 5403View attachment 5404
Well wasn't he a little cutie. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goober

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
I'd try eating a T-Rex, if I could. I bet it would be delicious with some chips and a bit of mint sauce.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
116
63
Moving
I'd try eating a T-Rex, if I could. I bet it would be delicious with some chips and a bit of mint sauce.
Are you old enough to remember when fries were cooked in peanut oil- damned delicious, best way for fries
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
Are you old enough to remember when fries were cooked in peanut oil- damned delicious, best way for fries

We don't do that here. We just fry them in vegetable oil. I'm old enough to remember when you used to go to the chippy, buy fish and chips, and they were wrapped in old newspapers. The ink on the fish and chips tasted a bit weird, but that's how it was traditionally done. They haven't done that for years, though, because of the modern 'Elf 'N Safety Brigade.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
116
63
Moving
We don't do that here. We just fry them in vegetable oil. I'm old enough to remember when you used to go to the chippy, buy fish and chips, and they were wrapped in old newspapers. The ink on the fish and chips tasted a bit weird, but that's how it was traditionally done. They haven't done that for years, though, because of the modern 'Elf 'N Safety Brigade.
I grew up in the 60's
They mainly used peanut oil then - I do feel for ya-
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
I grew up in the 60's
They mainly used peanut oil then - I do feel for ya-

Well I've not been knowingly missing it, because I didn't know about it.

Big chunky British chips fried in vegetable oil or lard. That's the way forward.