Discovery of brainy T rex ancestor sheds light on dinosaur's dominance

Skull found in Uzbekistan belonging to Timurlengia euotica, a horse-sized forerunner of Tyrannosaurus rex, reveals advanced brain and hearing ability that may have helped it become ‘king of the Cretaceous’ over larger rivalsThe dusty remains of a horse-sized tyrannosaur have shed light on an evolutionary mystery that eventually resulted in the most fearsome predators to walk the Earth, not to mention nightmares for countless four-year-olds.While Tyrannosaurus rex topped the food chain 70m years ago, the earliest known tyrannosaurs were far less impressive beasts. Skeletons dating back 165m years reveal the ancestors of T rex were not much larger than a human. Quite how they rose to dominance has long been obscured by a 20m-year gap in the fossil record. Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Dinosaurs Science Evolution Biology Fossils Zoology Source Type: news