New find reveals secrets of T-rex

The discovery of remains belonging to a previously unknown species of horse-sized dinosaur is shedding light on how Tyrannosaurus rex became one of Earth’s top predators, according to scientists.

The remains unearthed in northern Uzbekistan are said to be providing insights into how a family of small-bodied dinosaurs evolved over millions of years to become the fearsome giants which dominated the landscape about 66 million years ago.

A team of palaeontologists, led by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, studied a collection of tyrannosaur fossils found in the Kyzylkum desert. They said the newly-discovered species, named Timurlengia euotica, which lived about 90 million years ago, may fill a 20 million-year gap in the fossil record of tyrannosaurs. The species’ skull was much smaller than that of T-rex.

But key features of Timurlengia’s skull reveal its brain and senses were already highly developed, the team said.

Timurlengia was about the size of a horse and could weigh up to 250kg. It had long legs and a skull studded with sharp teeth, and was likely to have been a fast runner, researchers added.