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In 2025 a fresh study argued that Nanotyrannus — long dismissed as a young Tyrannosaurus rex — was a separate, smaller predator all along.

Nanotyrannus study (2025)

ScienceNature

Why it matters

The idea in context

The evidence came from a Montana skeleton in the famous 'Dueling Dinosaurs' fossil. Its growth rings showed an animal that had stopped growing at about twenty years old, not a still-growing juvenile, and it carried more teeth and longer arms than T. rex. If it holds up, some 'teenage T. rex' fossils in museums may belong to a different dinosaur entirely.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

2025'te yeni bir çalışma, uzun süre genç bir Tyrannosaurus rex sanılıp bir kenara atılan Nanotyrannus'un baştan beri ayrı, daha küçük bir yırtıcı olduğunu ileri sürdü.
Nanotyrannus çalışması (2025)

Kanıt, ünlü 'Düello Eden Dinozorlar' fosilindeki bir Montana iskeletinden geldi. Büyüme halkaları, hâlâ büyüyen bir yavruyu değil, yaklaşık yirmi yaşında büyümeyi durdurmuş bir hayvanı gösterdi; ayrıca T. rex'ten daha çok dişi ve daha uzun kolları vardı. Doğrulanırsa, müzelerdeki bazı 'genç T. rex' fosilleri bütünüyle başka bir dinozora ait olabilir.

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Background reading: NanotyrannusAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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