Scientists discover gigantic 'shark-toothed' dinosaur that dominated food chain before tyrannosaurs

[Judi Lynn]

Scientists say the dinosaur may have been twice the length, and over five times heavier than a tyrannosaur

Vishwam Sankaran
18 hours ago



A new dinosaur discovered in Uzbekistan weighed over 1000 kg and measured 7.5–8.0 meters in length

(University of Tsukuba)

Scientists have discovered a new gigantic dinosaur with shark-like teeth that lived 90 million years ago and was an apex predator of its time, ruling the food chain on land before the advent of the Tyrannosaurus rex.

A fossil jawbone of the beast, now named Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis, was unearthed in Uzbekistan, representing the first record of an apex predator dinosaur of this era from Central Asia.

According to the researchers, including Kohei Tanaka from the State Geological Museum of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the 8-metre-long dinosaur weighed more than a tonne.

Based on estimations from the analysis of the fossil remains, the scientists say U. uzbekistanensis may have been twice the length and over five times heavier than a tyrannosaur.

More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/shark-toothed-dinosaur-ulughbegsaurus-uzbekistan-b1917713.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. To be clear ... not the first such known.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosauridae

Carcharodontosaurus /ˌkɑːrkəroʊˌdɒntoʊˈsɔːrəs/ is a genus of large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed during the Cenomanian stage of the mid-Cretaceous Period in Northern Africa. It is currently known to include two species: C. saharicus and C. iguidensis, which are among the largest theropods, nearly as large as or even larger than Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Spinosaurus.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-shark-toothed-dinosaurs-came-to-rule-the-world

[NickB79]

2. Twice the length? Tyrannosaurus Rex was 40+ ft

There's literally no chance this predator was 80' long.

Unless they're comparing it to some of the early tyrannosaurids that came 20 million yr before T. rex.