Researchers at NC Museum of Natural Sciences discover new species of tyrannosaur

RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — North Carolina researchers have made a monumental dinosaur discovery – definitive proof of a new tyrannosaur species coexisting with T. Rex. 

The species is a speedy and agile creature called Nanotyrannus, Gov. Josh Stein announced Thursday alongside officials with the Museum of Natural Sciences and N.C. State University. 

“This is the biggest dinosaur discovery of the decade, and I am proud that it is happening right here in North Carolina,” said Stein. “North Carolina’s public universities and public museums are continuously on the forefront of scientific research and advancement.” 

Paleontologists in the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ SECU DinoLab — the world’s only paleontology preparation lab regularly open to the public — have been studying the pair of 67-million-year-old specimens called the “Dueling Dinosaurs” after the museum acquired them in 2020. Now, the lab’s first major research finding overturns a widely accepted scientific consensus on tyrannosaurs.

“Being able to watch these discoveries unfold in real time, in a real laboratory, is a remarkable experience for visitors to the Museum of Natural Sciences,” said Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Pamela Cashwell. “It is thanks to Museum Director Denise Young, head of paleontology Lindsay Zanno, their incredible team, and our strong partnership with N.C. State University that we are able to offer these experiences to all North Carolinians.”    

The Dueling Dinosaurs fossil contains two dinosaurs preserved together in a potential predator-prey encounter: a Triceratops and what was originally thought to be a juvenile tyrannosaur. They were found buried together in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. That tyrannosaur is now confirmed to be a fully grown Nanotyrannus lancensis – not a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex, as many scientists once believed.  

For decades, paleontologists have used Nanotyrannus fossils to model T. rex growth and behavior. New evidence reveals that those studies were based on two entirely different animals – and that multiple tyrannosaur species inhabited the same ecosystems in the final million years before an asteroid impact caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs.  

Researchers say the discovery means predator diversity in the last million years of the Cretaceous period was much higher than previously thought, and hints that other small-bodied dinosaur species might also be victims of mistaken identity.

“The best part of this discovery is being able to share it with the world,” said Zanno. “Anyone who wants to see a 100% complete Nanotyrannus can come to the museum, speak directly with the scientific team, and stand next to the real skeleton.”  

The findings, published in the Nature scientific journal, was supported by the state of North Carolina, N.C. State University, the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Dueling Dinosaurs Capital Campaign.

The Dueling Dinosaurs experience includes two exhibit zones immersing visitors in the age of dinosaurs as well as highlighting the tools and techniques used by today’s paleontologists.