Growth modeling also estimates that the maximum weight of Nanotyrannus was around 900-1,500 kg and a height of 5 m, only about 15% of the size of the giant Tyrannosaurus rex which reached 8,000 kg and a height of 9 m or more.
Additionally, the study highlights differences in growth patterns with other tyrannosaurs, suggesting that Nanotyrannus did not exhibit the typical features of Tyrannosaurus rex.
Dr. Longrich stated that although Nanotyrannus may have experienced growth in a different way, it was most likely not a Tyrannosaurus rex. Although the question arose as to why no one had found a young T. rex before, this discovery provided answers and revealed that the fossils had been long forgotten, stored in a box of unknown bones in a museum drawer. Nanotyrannus also displayed striking differences, with a lighter body and longer legs compared to its thick-bodied relatives.
“When I saw these results, I was very surprised. “I didn’t expect the results to be so convincing,” said Dr. Longrich. “If they were young T. rex they should be growing like crazy, gaining hundreds of pounds a year, but we didn’t see that.” “We tried modeling the data in various ways and still got low growth rates. This seems to be the end of the hypothesis that these animals were young T. rex.” In support of the existence of different species, the researchers found no evidence of any fossils that combined features of Nanotyrannus and T. rex – which would have existed if one had transformed into the other. Every fossil they examined could be confidently identified as one species or another.
2024-01-24 12:46:15
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