The direct ancestors of the Tyrannosaurus Rex They would have arrived in North America after crossing an Earth bridge in Asia, according to a new study. The report is the most recent to contribute to the intense debate between paleontologists about the origins of the king of dinosaurs.
A team led by Cassius Morrison, PhD in Paleontology at University College London (UCL), used Mathematical Modeling to conclude that T. Rex precursors probably arrived in North America after crossing the Bering Strait, between present -day Siberia and Alaska, about 70 million years ago.
The discovery is aligned with previous research that suggests that T. Rex was more closely related to the Great Carnivore Tarbosaurus in Asia than to the major predators of North America, such as DasPlatosaurus, Morrison said in a statement.
At the time, the area would have been covered by tempered tropical forests, with a climate similar to that of the current British Columbia, Morrison told CNN On Tuesday (6).
T. Rex’s ancestors – tyrannosaurids – would have been less numerous in their environment compared to the herbivorous dinosaurs of which they feeded, as well as the predators of the top chain, like lions, said Morrison today.
“And because they are less numerous, there is also less chances of being preserved in the fossil register,” he explained.
Given this lack of evidence, Morrison and his co -authors used mathematical models that incorporate data from the existing fossil record and T. Rex’s genealogical tree, as well as weather and environmental conditions, Morrison said.
Modeling also considers gaps in the fossil record, which means it can be updated if new discoveries are done in future research, he added. For example, Morrison said the new study’s findings suggest that T. Rex’s fossils may still remain uncovered in Asia.
Why T. Rex probably evolved into a giant
The team also found that tyrannosaurides such as T. Rex experienced a rapid increase in size over a period when global temperatures were falling, suggesting that these dinosaurs were more adapted to prospering in colder climates, perhaps thanks to their feathers or the fact that they are more endothermic.
The rapid growth in size also occurred after the extinction of another group of giant carnivorous dinosaurs known as carcharodontids, leaving “a vacuum at the top of the food chain,” according to a UCL statement on Tuesday.
This growth meant that when dinosaurs were extinguished, T. Rex could weigh up to 9 metric tons, “approximately the same as a very large African elephant or a light tank,” according to the statement.
Study co -author Charlie Scherer, a master’s science master and a future doctoral student at UCL, said in a statement that “discoveries cast light on how the largest tyrants appeared in North and South America during the Cretaceous and how they grew up so much until the end of the dinosaur era.”
“They probably grew until it reaches such gigantic sizes to replace the equally giant carcharodontids that have been extinguished for about 90 million years,” said Scherer.
“This extinction probably removed the ecological barrier that prevented tyrants from growing up to such sizes.”
Steve Brusatte, paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland that did not participate in the study, told the CNN That the article “is a refined academic work that forensically tyrannous and other carnivorous dinosaurs over time, and compares its evolution with climate change.”
“Even the larger and more dominant dinosaurs were affected by the weather. It seems that tyrannosaurs managed to get big several times independently, when colder climates promoted size increases,” he said.
“It was easier to be great when temperatures were cold. Dinosaurs’ kings were not predestined to govern, but were helped by the weather,” added Brusatte.
The study was published in the magazine Royal Society Open Science.
See also: After rains, Dinosaur fossil of 233 million years is found in RS
Newly discovered, dinosaur with shark teeth was T. rex of his time
This content was originally published in T. Rex ancestors used Earth Bridge from Asia to America on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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