First Deep-Snouted Tyrannosaur Discovered in Southern China

A team of paleontologists in China has discovered a new species of tyrannosaur, according to Xinhua. Researchers from the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History have named the dinosaur “Asiatyrannus xui” in honor of the Chinese scientist Xu Xing.

Their study, titled “The first deep-snouted tyrannosaur from Upper Cretaceous Ganzhou City of southeastern China,” was published on Thursday, July 25. This new species is notable for its large body size and deeply curved snout.

The study indicates that the earliest tyrannosaurs appeared during the Middle Jurassic period, approximately 165 million years ago. These dinosaurs became the top predators in their ecosystems during the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous period in both Asia and western North America.

Dr. Wenjie Zheng, quoted by Interesting Engineering, stated: “Tyrannosauroids are among the most distinctive, well-known, and extensively studied groups of dinosaurs, with nearly 30 recognized species.”

The newly identified tyrannosaur species lived around 72 to 66 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossilized remains include a nearly complete skull, tail vertebrae, and hind limb bones. Researchers believe this is the first deep-snouted tyrannosaur discovered in Southern China.

The skull of “Asiatyrannus xui” measures 47.5 centimeters in length, and the overall body length is estimated to be about half that of Qianzhousaurus, which could reach approximately nine meters at similar growth stages.

Most tyrannosaurs in Asia have been found in northern China and Mongolia, except for the long-snouted genus Qianzhousaurus from the Nanxiong Formation (Maastrichtian) in Nankang District of Ganzhou City, southeastern China, as noted in the study.