A farmer from Canada unearthed «Reaper of death» — previously unknown to science ancient cousin of the dinosaur t-Rex

When the owner of a dairy farm from Canada dug the ground in the area, he wasn’t really looking for the roots of vegetables.

Doing Hiking near home in Alberta John De Groot and his wife Sandra have found well-preserved jaw bone of a completely new species of dinosaur, which scientists have already nicknamed «the grim Reaper».

Who lived about 79,5 million years ago, the view Thanatotheristes degrootorum — well-known cousin Tyrannosaurus Rex is the oldest discovered fossil related to the tyrannosaurs, according to the University of calgary and the Royal Tyrrel Museum.

Dr. Francois therrien, curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology, made a statement in the blog of the Museum, noting: «We are pleased to announce that in Canada over 50 years was found first new species of Tyrannosaurus Rex».

In a report published in the journal Cretaceous Research, scientists have described a new species as an «apex predator», which reached 26 feet tall and grew sharp jagged fangs up to 3 inches in length. Its name was inspired by Thanatos, the Greek God of death and is connected with the Greek word, meaning the Reaper «theristes». The second part of the name degrootorum pays tribute to De Groot, a modest farmer and paleontologist-the fan who found the dinosaur.

«It was definitely a powerful animal,» he told Live Science the lead researcher Jared Voris of the University of calgary. «Approximately 8 feet in height only in the hips».

The voris also indicated that makes this t-Rex is very unique. «These bands are not like anything we’ve seen before in other species of tyrannosaurs» — he said. «We are not sure what is their purpose»,- he said.

Ten years passed before the remains were fully tested after John and Sandra’s bones were found on the banks of the bow river in Alberta.

«The jaw bone was a absolutely stunning finding,» said John. «We knew they were special because you could clearly see the fossils of teeth.» «John always said that one day he will find the scalp of a dinosaur,» adds Sandra. «Find jaw was impressive. It was incredible to know that this is a new kind, not to mention the fact that he was given our name».

A new species of tyrannosaur has been discovered in Alberta, Canada. It measured 2.4 metres at the hip and was an apex predator 79 million years ago. It has been named Thanatotheristes degrootorum, meaning “reaper of death”.

(Credit: Julius Csotonyi) pic.twitter.com/lJe4SAyx1k

— Extinct Animals 🦖🦕 (@Extinct_AnimaIs) February 10, 2020

Scientists believe that T. degrootorum held a high rank in the food chain, as most of the dinosaurs found in the region ate the plant food. But he was not so large as its illustrious relative of T. Rex, which appeared in the Cretaceous period 12 million years ago, according to Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study.

He told Live Science that the discovery shows that tyrannosaurs «not everything was a huge giperkinezami like t-Rex, but there were subgroups who had their own unique type of body structure and probably hunting style».

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