AssetID: 53300137
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Tyrannosaur's Last Meal Revealed By Extraordinary Fossil Find
Caption: An extraordinary fossil specimen showing a tyrannosaur’s last meal has shed new light on the terrifying dinosaur’s dietary habits. This marks a pioneering discovery, as it is the first instance of stomach contents being preserved intact within a fossilized tyrannosaur. Unearthed in Dinosaur Provincial Park in 2009 by staff from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, the remarkably well-preserved specimen in question belongs to the Gorgosaurus libratus species. Gorgosaurus, a tyrannosaur that thrived 75 million years ago, predating the more renowned Tyrannosaurus rex, inhabited what is now the southern region of Alberta. The age of the dinosaur at the time of its demise is estimated to be between five and seven years, with a weight approximated at 335 kg during its juvenile phase—merely 13% of the mass of an adult Gorgosaurus.In the museum's laboratory, remnants of two small dinosaurs were discovered preserved within the stomach cavity of the Gorgosaurus specimen. Researchers discerned that the carnivore had dismantled two juvenile, bird-like herbivorous dinosaurs belonging to the Citipes elegans species. Rather than ingesting its prey whole, the young tyrannosaur selectively consumed the hind limbs, the most substantial portions of the creatures. The prey, identified as caenagnathid dinosaurs akin to the Asian Oviraptor, were conclusively revealed in a recent study led by Dr. François Therrien from the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Dr. Darla Zelenitsky from the University of Calgary, published in the journal Science Advances. By scrutinizing fossilized bones highlighted in an accompanying illustration, the researchers ascertained that both Citipes individuals were in their first year of life at the time of demise. Similar to contemporary crocodiles, tyrannosaurs processed the bones of their prey in their stomachs rather than regurgitating them. The distinct stages of digestion of the two Citipes individuals suggested that the gorgosaur had ingested them at separate times, potentially hours or days apart. This unique finding indicates that young caenagnathids may have been preferred prey for juvenile gorgosaurs. Significantly, this specimen offers direct evidence that the dietary preferences of young gorgosaurs differed from those of their adult counterparts. While adults are known to have preyed on megaherbivores such as horned and duck-billed dinosaurs, juveniles were better suited for capturing and dismembering smaller prey due to their lean build, narrow skulls, blade-like teeth, and long, slender hind limbs. These findings imply that tyrannosaurs occupied distinct ecological niches throughout their lifecycle, transitioning from hunting small and young dinosaurs to preying on larger herbivores as they matured. This dietary shift likely commenced around the age of 11, coinciding with the development of more robust skulls and teeth. In modern ecosystems, such dietary variances offer a competitive advantage, mitigating intraspecific competition for resources. This adaptive strategy may have facilitated the coexistence of juvenile and adult tyrannosaurs in the same ecosystem, contributing to the evolutionary success of these formidable carnivorous theropods.
Keywords: dinosaurs,tyrannosaur,feature,palaeontology,tyrrell,photo,video
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