io9: tyrannosaurus rex

Meet T-Rex's Diminutive Ancestor

Lauren Davis — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:20:00 PDT

In the days before Tyrannosaurus Rex roamed the Earth, prehistoric animals lived in fear of its ancestor, the Raptorex. But this petit progenitor of the Tyrannosauri would have been a mere mouthful for the mighty T-Rex.

Paleontologists recently found the remains of the Raptorex in a lake bed in Northern China. Like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Raptorex sports an over-sized head, itty bitty forearms, strong jaws, and a runner's build — "jaws on legs" as Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago described it — but it was only one hundredth the mass of the T-Rex and stood a mere 3 meters in length.

It's the combination of its small stature and its classically T-Rex features that has paleontologists excited. Other smaller relatives of the Tyrannosaurus have lacked that dinosaur's tiny forearms and comparatively large head, which has long caused paleontologists to suspect those adaptations were due to the Tyrannosaurus's large size. But finding them on a smaller relation means they will have to rethink the T-Rex's evolutionary development.

Raptorex – a prototype T. rex [New Scientist]

Raptorex Rendering
Raptorex Skeleton

T. Rex vs. Raptorex
Skull Comparison

Own a Tyrannosaurus Rex of Your Very Own

Lauren Davis — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:37:32 PDT

If you've ever wanted to own a piece of prehistory (and have cash to burn), you'll want to check out the natural history auction taking place at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas on October 3rd. For between $2 to 8 million, you can pick up Samson, one of the most complete T-Rex skeletons ever assembled. And if your budget falls under half a million dollars, you can still get yourself a perfectly respectable mammoth skeleton or duck-billed dinosaur. [Wired]

Bang A Gong And Get It On With Rob Zombie

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:44:00 PDT

We've been ignoring Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex movie project, now in development, because it doesn't sound like it actually features killer dinosaurs. Just wrestlers and Satanic bikers and stuff. But this is the second piece of concept art Zombie has put out which has a giant flaming T-Rex in the background. Is this a metaphorical dinosaur, or will there actually be dinosaurs made of fire? Click through for the full pic, plus the other flaming dino image.