Tromerosaurus solumons reshapes tyrannosaur evolution — SkimNews
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- Tromerosaurus solumons, a new tyrannosaur species discovered in southern Alberta, lived 77 million years ago, measured 8 metres long, and had lengthy lean legs.
- Mark Powers at the University of Alberta classified the dinosaur as an early albertosaurine, despite its jaw hole resembling the tyrannosaurine Daspletosaurus and its sinus system matching the albertosaurine Gorgosaurus libratus.
- The first foot fossils were unearthed in 2010 and 2011, but the species' identity only became clear as more of the skeleton and additional specimens emerged.
- The name combines "frightful lizard" (an homage to Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus) with "lonely mountain" — a nod to the dinosaur's eye horn and Smaug's lair in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
- Powers said tyrannosaur evolution may not be a simple march toward T. rex as the final destination, with multiple lineages potentially surviving until the end-Cretaceous extinction.
- Jared Voris at the University of Calgary said examining even earlier albertosaurine fossils in 78–79-million-year-old rocks is needed to clarify the evolutionary story.
Why it matters: Decades of work sorting tyrannosaurs into two clean subfamilies now face scrutiny after the 8-metre Alberta fossil showed mixed features from both lineages. Lead author Mark Powers says classification traits might be less informative than assumed, and Voris is now hunting 78–79-million-year-old rocks for the transitional specimens that could redraw it.
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