Most Complete Tyrannosaur Fossil Ever Found in Utah

The skeleton is thought to be 76 million years old.

October 23, 2017 9:01 am
complete tyrannosaur fossil
(Mark Johnston/NHMU)

Paleontologists have dug up the near-complete skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex in Utah, reports the Daily MailThe skeleton, which is thought to be 76-million-years-old, was airlifted to the Natural History Museum of Utah, where it will be studied.

Researchers believe the beast belongs to the species Teratophoneus curriei, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period. It was probably about 12-15 years old when it died, reports The Daily Mail. It was about 17-20 feet long, and had a short head. It seems likely it was buried in a river channel or during a flood.

complete tyrannosaur fossil
(Mark Johnston/NHMU)

The dinosaur has at least 75 percent of its bones preserved, making it the most complete skeleton of a tyrannosaur ever discovered in the southwestern U.S., said Dr. Randall Irmis, curator of paleontology at the Museum and associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah.

complete tyrannosaur fossil
(Mark Johnston/NHMU)
© Mark Johnston/NHMU

The skeleton was first discovered in July 2015 in the Kaiparowits Formation. This is part of the central plateau region of the Bureau of Land Management’s Grant Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), reports The Daily Mail. This region contains all sorts of topography, from high desert to badlands. Much of the land is exposed rock, which means there is a lot of space for discoveries, according to GSENM paleontologist Dr. Alan Titus, who was one of the researchers who discovered the fossil.

This particular find is important because it could be a new species or an individual of Teratophoneus, The Daily Mail reports.

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