Scientists from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) identified an unknown species of dinosaurs found earlier in Uzbekistan, which in their genus and size significantly exceeded the famous tironnasaurs.
This discovery was published in the journal of the Royal Society Open Science, and a brief report is available on the University website .
The fossilized remains of the "King of dinosaurs " were discovered in the lower Upper Cretaceous Bissekty Formation of the Kyzylkum Desert in Uzbekistan. Two separate analyses conducted by Japanese scientists helped to classify this finding. The found creature belongs to a group of ancient predators known in science - Carcharodontosaurs (Carcharodontosauria).
The authors named it Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis in honor of Ulugbek, one of the most enlightened rulers of the Timurid Empire, a famous astronomer and mathematician of the XV century, and the second part - in honor of the name of the country where the unique fossil was discovered.
Scientists have found that an ancient predator roamed the Earth about 90 million years ago. The real "King of dinosaurs" was much larger than the famous tyrannosaurs and occupied the highest place in the food chain. The so-called super-predator dominated its ecosystem during the Cretaceous period, but later tyrannosaurs replaced it at the top of the food hierarchy.
Paleontologists have established Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis had a mass of over 1,000 kg, and was approximately 7.5 to 8.0 meters in length, greater than the length of a full-grown African elephant.
Carcharodontosaurs, such as Ulughbegsaurus, disappeared from the ancient continent of Laurasia, which included Central Asia, at the very beginning of the Late Cretaceous period. According to one version of scientists, the disappearance could be associated with the evolutionary rise of tyrannosaurs, which gradually became the highest predators.
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