Picture of t rex dinosaur12/3/2023 The following month, a crew of Burke paleontologists returned to Sucia Island with permits to excavate the fossil so it could be studied. Since it was embedded in rock, they took photos, recorded the location and contacted our partners at Washington State Parks. But our keen-eyed paleontologists could tell it was a small section of exposed bone. Most people would have walked right by it. While scanning the ground for ammonites, they spotted this: On April 10, 2012, two Burke Museum research associates were at Sucia Island State Park with a collecting permit for fossil ammonites-sea creatures with spiral-shaped shells that lived at the same time as dinosaurs. As the Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture, we're so excited to display Washington's first dinosaur fossil in our lobby and share the discovery with you! The road to discovering Washington’s first dinosaur fossil. Christian Sidor and University of Washington graduate student Brandon Peecook describe the find in the journal PLOS ONE. Earthquakes and other geologic forces that constantly reshape our planet moved the rocks north to their present-day location.īurke Museum Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Dr. How much further south is a topic of scientific debate, with locations ranging between present day Baja California, Mexico, and northern California. During that time, the rocks that today form Sucia Island were likely further south. The fossil is approximately 80 million years old and is from the Late Cretaceous period. It was found along the shores of Sucia Island State Park in the San Juan Islands. "Not that I'm saying that, basically, dinosaurs would have been good pets, but they would probably not have been as scary as what their bones seem to tell us," Therrien said.The fossil is a partial left thigh bone of a theropod dinosaur, the group of two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs that includes Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus rex and modern birds. " have big canines big sharp teeth, but once you put all the flesh on the muscles and the fur on top, then there are those cute little pets that you want to play with. However, he notes that even a domestic cat's skeleton could look fierce on its own. rex as a toothy, killing machine came from a time when paleontologists first uncovered dinosaur bones and were in awe of their frightening appearance. Witton)įrançois Therrien, a curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alta., says that the depiction of the T. New data suggests that the latter model, lizard-like lips, applies to most, or all, predatory dinosaur species. Scientists and artists have developed two principal models of predatory dinosaur facial appearances: crocodylian-like lipless jaws or a lizard-like lipped mouth. "It's very exciting to make discoveries like this … and to finally bring them to light so that other members of the public and other scientists can see our work and evaluate that," he said. Larson is looking forward to hearing what Canadians and the paleontology community have to say about these findings. New findings open up new avenues of study rex had typically sized teeth for a predator of its size - and some modern lizards with lips actually had larger teeth compared to their skull size.Ĭullen says this evidence came in around the same time in 2017 and was the first significant push that allowed them to start becoming confident in the existence of lips. When comparing the tooth and skull proportions to modern monitor lizards, the team also discovered that the T. rex had equal tooth enamel thickness, which was more consistent with teeth that are constantly hydrated inside a mouth than the uneven enamel on exposed crocodile teeth. Q&A: Did dinosaurs and humans coexist, as controversial Sask.rex were considered to have exposed teeth, similar to modern crocodiles, thought to be too large to be contained behind the lips. They were likely less dexterous and more similar to the lips of modern lizards.įor a long time, theropod dinosaurs such as the T. Museum, said that the dinosaurs' lips were not the "kissing lips" seen on mammals today. This discovery is a significant step in uncovering a more accurate picture of creatures that lived more than 66 million years ago and could change reconstructions and depictions of dinosaurs in the future, according to experts in the field.ĭerek Larson, a co-author of the paper and a paleontologist at the Royal B.C. An international team of paleontologists has found evidence that may change the modern understanding of the Tyrannosaurus rex and velociraptor.Ī paper published in the journal Science released on Thursday says new evidence suggests that instead of large, exposed teeth, the dinosaur species actually had lips enclosing their mouths.
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