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| World Earliest Tyrannosaurus rex Fossil Unearthed in Liaoning Province |
| 2009-09-16 |
Chinese scientists just confirmed that the tyrannosaurus rex fossil unearthed in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province was the earliest fossil of its kind so far discovered.
Ji Qiang and Ji Shu'an from Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences concluded after preliminary research that the giant tyrannosaurus rex lived in the early Cretaceous Period (about 120 millions years ago), 50 million years earlier than the similar kind found in North America and Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China.
The fossils were firstly discovered in March, 2009 in a local quarry. There were 1/3 of a skull, two broken iliums, one uncus, and two vertebras. Researchers deduced from the skull fossil that the tyrannosaurus rex was about 10-meter long. There was a vertical crista on the outer side of the ilium, a distinctive feature of tyrannosaurus rex.
The fossil holds great importance in the research of the origin, migration and evolution of tyrannosaurus rex, noted the researchers.
Archaeologists have excavated many kinds of fossils in Chaoyang City since the 1980's, including fossil of birds, other animals and plants. They drew worldwide attention with their kind and number. Researchers believed that it was very likely to discover more fossils of tyrannosaurus rex or other kind of dinosaurs in this area. |
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