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Recently, a team of researchers and students from the University of Kansas has unearthed a fossil that may belong to a baby Tyrannosaurus rex. They managed to excavate the remains from the Hell Creek Formation in central Montana. It seems that the remains are rather intact for how old they are. They contain a part of the upper jaw with the teeth intact, parts of its skull, as well as hips, backbone, and foot. Most likely, the experts are saying that the fossil belongs to an infant Tyrannosaurus rex that lived about 66.5 million years ago.
However, they are not 100% sure, as the remains could also belong to a different species of small, carnivorous dinosaur that lived during that same period. According to David Burnham from Kansas University’s Biodiversity Institute, the most obvious proof that this is a Tyrannosaurus rex are its teeth. However, the work is not finished yet, as the remains could very well belong to another species of dinosaur of the same size.
Baby Tyrannosaurus rex possibly found in Montana
Such a young T. rex is extremely rare and only a few individuals have been discovered over the years. This is why it’s so difficult to find out more about the changes that such a dinosaur would have gone through until reaching maturity. Also, certain differences in the bones could mean that they belong to different species.
Fortunately, Burnham says, the university is lucky to have a mature T. rex in its possession to make comparisons. It also has another young Tyrannosaurus rex currently on loan. After analyzing these remains, the experts are planning to return to that exact spot this summer in the hope of finding more interesting things. In the coming months, they are also planning on publishing all of their results regarding this very rare baby T. rex.
Image source: wikimedia
