Scientists Discover the Fossil of a Tiny T-Rex in the Freezing Arctic Landscape
17
Apr 2009
This is a tale of discovering the apex predator of the Arctic Circle who could call the Tyrannosaurus Rex his elder brother and was no less fearsome – Ferociousness runs in the Tyrannosauridae family.
Dubbed as the Nanuqsaurus Hoglundi (polar-bear lizard), this new species has been estimated to be no taller than an average human being. The search started long back in 2006 and its fossilized skull fragments have been finally discovered in the region around the Prince Creek’s Formation on the Northern Slope of Alaska.
Although this dinosaur has been named after a polar bear, the climatic conditions at that time resembled the climate of the modern-day northern USA or southern Canada – A climatic condition which a polar bear would not prefer at all.
Nanuqsaurus Hoglundi roamed the cold, arctic landscape in search for its prey around 70-billion years ago during the Late Cretaceous era. It was not the sole predator in the arctic region at that time because fossilized remains of another carnivorous dinosaur called Troodon have been discovered prior to this particular discovery.
The discovery has been undertaken on the basis of only four skull fragments. Based on these fragments, scientists have been able to determine:
- The skull size
- The body size
The discovery is an exciting one especially because it gives us an idea about the biological richness of the arctic region at a time when the Earth was much warmer than it is today. Moreover, this discovery is also a step ahead in understanding the dominant variety present in tyrannosaurid ecology.
To this day, the search for more fragments is continuing with a passionate zeal in the Alaskan Tundra. The hopes are high that more fragments will be discovered as a result of arduous efforts of many determined and dedicated minds.
