As kids, everyone always knew the most ferocious and terrifying of all ancient dinosaurs was the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Dominating the dino days with it's huge head, ironically tiny arms, and vicious teeth, the T Rex was the bully of the prehistoric playground.
Or at least that is what we were taught.
New archaelogical evidence from China suggests that 125 million years ago, the Tyrannosaurus' predecessor, the Raptorex, wasn't that big at all. With an estimated weight and height of 143 pounds, 9 feet, this ancestral beast was only a fraction of the classic T Rex's height and weighed about 100 times less.
Personally I find the information fascinating, but after thinking about it, not as surprising as these researchers seem to suggest. Granted, I'm not an paleontoligist or an evolutionary theorist, but the T. rex had to come from somewhere, right? To me, it only makes sense that the T. rex we all love to hate evolved of some smaller, less advanced beasts. Instead, I find this new evidence stunning in that it adds another solid piece to the missing puzzle of earth's complex history. Hopefully as more discoveries like this surface, they can give us even further insight into our rich heritage as residents of this planet.
Anyways, here is the article, see what you think:
"Tiny T. rex fossil discovery startles scientists"
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/09/17/tiny.t-rex.dinosaur.discovered/index.html
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