The T-rex will likely never be robbed of its popularity by another prehistoric predator. But new and new paleontological discoveries show that he was not the only “most terrifying and terrifying”, although he was the largest terrestrial carnivore ever lived. In 2021, a new species of carcharodontosaurus was described, which in its day was at the top of the food chain and was no less terrifying. It is Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis.
Discovering the uncovered
It is not often that a fossil is discovered twice. But it happened. In the 1980s, a fossil jaw of a prehistoric creature was found in the Kyzylkum Desert in central Uzbekistan. Paleontologists carefully preserved it in an Uzbek museum. Carefully preserved there, it remained there for many years before being “discovered” again in 2019. A team of scientists led by Japanese paleontologist K. Tanaka undertook the examination of the jaw. Scientists managed to prove that this is a new species of carcharodontosaurus. They described it in their studiedwhich they published in September 2021 in The Royal Society magazine. “We describe this new genus and species on the basis of a single isolated fossil, the left jaw”, Tanaka proudly declared. “We found four diagnostic features on the jaw. These features, such as bumps and bony folds, are unique to this dinosaur, so we were able to assign it to a new genus and species. “ He said.
Scientists have discovered the largest dinosaur of all time – the giant monster didn’t even kill the T-Rex
Elena Velimska
reading for 2 minutes
Sultan lizard
Carcharodontosaur means shark lizard or shark tooth lizard. He inhabited our planet in the late Cretaceous period, that is, 92-90 million years ago. It lived in the southern supercontinent of Gondwana until the end of the Cretaceous period, but disappeared in the northern continent of Laurasia in the middle of the period. Carcarodontosaurs were massive and heavy theropods, weighing up to six tons. In their day they were much larger than tyrannosaurs and spinosaurs, which only “grew” in later periods. They were the best predators, the “rulers” of that time. The newly discovered species is named after an astronomer and mathematician, but mainly from a sultan of the Timirud Empire (14th century) named Ulugh Beg – Uglughbegsaurus (saurus means lizard), uzbekistanensis refers to the place of discovery. According to estimates, his eight-meter body weighed about a ton. The eight-inch shark teeth tore meat from other carnivores as well, and in times of hunger, supposedly, these lizards also attacked their own species.
Source: Youtube
End of government
Ulughbegasaurus uzbekistanensis and other carchadontosaurs thrived and were not wiped out by any disaster. It is not yet known why they disappeared. At that time, the ancestors of the T-rex were precisely these ordinary predators, which were still far from the peak of predators. But Tanaka and his team believe that the “shark-toothed lizards” began to disappear as the “tyrants” began to rapidly evolve into feared predators and began competing with them for hunting. “If we really want to find out what happened to dinosaurs like Ulughbegasaurus, who was one of the last living carchadontosaurids, and understand their extinction and tyrannosaur gigantism, we need more evidence, more reptile remains like him need to appear,” Tanaka said.
For the first time, scientists have decided to enter the gigantic Hellwell. What did they find us?
reading for 3 minutes
Resources: www.sci.news, www.syfy.com
