Tyrannosaurus rex is widely known as a terrible predator from ancient times. But wait a minute, this newly discovered monster dinosaur species makes it look like it's just a mashed spice.
Researchers at the University of Calgary, Canada, have found the scary dinosaur. Named as Ulughbegsaurus, he became the ruler of Earth for about 90 million years as the most terrible predator.
The researchers initially analyzed the dinosaur's jaw fossil, which had actually been discovered during excavations in the 1980s. It was so massive that according to one of the researchers, Darla Zelenitsky, the tyrannosaurs that lived at the same time as Ulughbegsaurus were only one-fifth the body mass of Ulughbegsaurus.
The fossil was further investigated by Darla and Dr. Kohei Tanaka. By using 3-dimensional modeling of its teeth and jaws, they concluded that the fossil was a new species of dinosaur that had not been identified before.
Darla said Ulughbegsaurus made tyrannosaurus rex appear weak and was clearly a more formidable predator. Well, once Ulughbegsaurus became extinct, then the tyrannosaurs came to power and became the apex predators of their time.
"The extinction of Ulughbegsaurus seems to have made tyrannosaurs the apex dinosaur predators in Asia and North America around 80 to 90 million years ago," Darla explained.
These scientists were surprised to discover the existence of Ulughbegsaurus for so long and called it a very interesting discovery. Ulughbegsaurus is estimated to have reached a length of 7.5 to 8 meters and weighed about 1,000 kilograms. It rips apart its prey with sharp teeth like swords.
At the time Ulughbegsaurus lived, tyrannosaurs had not yet fully developed into great predators and were smaller in size, under 200 kilograms. So it's like Ulughbegsaurus is a grizzly bear and Tyrannosaurus rex is a coyote. The cause of the extinction of Ulughbegsaurus is still unknown and requires further research.
