We've all grown up knowing a T. rex is a T. rex, and that's all there is to it. A study published in the journal Evolutionary Biology suggests otherwise, According to the authors, there are three species. Three times the Tyrannosaur goodness?
After looking over the existing specimens of T. rex (there are only 38 in the world, according to one count) Paleontologist Gregory Paul and his coauthors believe they fall into three body types different enough from each other to be named species. He proposes we add T. imperator (emperor), and T. regina (queen), The world's most famous fossil skeleton, the Tyrannosaurus "Sue" in the Field Museum, is named as the type specimen for T. imperator.
After looking over the existing specimens of T. rex (there are only 38 in the world, according to one count) Paleontologist Gregory Paul and his coauthors believe they fall into three body types different enough from each other to be named species. He proposes we add T. imperator (emperor), and T. regina (queen), The world's most famous fossil skeleton, the Tyrannosaurus "Sue" in the Field Museum, is named as the type specimen for T. imperator.
Some paleontologists were disappointed by the paper because there had been so much hype preceding it. They expected a major discovery based on new fossils, not an argument for reclassification.
This new royal family has sparked immediate controversy. We think of paleontologists as a serious lot, if not actually dull, but the debate in this case, while professional, is already getting fierce. Dr. Steve Brusatte, author of the superb popular book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs (2018), thinks the differences cited are "...very minor and not indicative of meaningful biological separation of distinct species,,," PaleoTwitter, which is a VERY active community with a lot of calm professional discourse sprinkled with non-calm acrimonious discourse, is abuzz, and most of the buzz ia about how the paper is wrong. But the storm of prehistoric dust is just starting. Many debates and studies lie ahead. Consensus may never come.
This new royal family has sparked immediate controversy. We think of paleontologists as a serious lot, if not actually dull, but the debate in this case, while professional, is already getting fierce. Dr. Steve Brusatte, author of the superb popular book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs (2018), thinks the differences cited are "...very minor and not indicative of meaningful biological separation of distinct species,,," PaleoTwitter, which is a VERY active community with a lot of calm professional discourse sprinkled with non-calm acrimonious discourse, is abuzz, and most of the buzz ia about how the paper is wrong. But the storm of prehistoric dust is just starting. Many debates and studies lie ahead. Consensus may never come.
NOTE: Dr. Alan Grant could not be reached for comment.
One vision of T. rex (public domain)
Honestly I wonder how many species Canis Lupus would be put into if we just had fossils from Alaska, India and the American west.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, Gregory Paul tends to be a lumper, not a splitter, so that is interesting.
ReplyDelete