Earliest Tyrannosauroid Rediscovered in Museum Collection

marco_polo

First Palaeontology news of 2010

And another result for long forgotten museum specimens. After a fresh analysis of Proceratosaurus, it turns out to be the earliest known ancestor of the family Tyrannosauridae (of Tyrannosaurus rex fame)

A long forgotten fossil skull in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London has now provided crucial clues to the early stages of the lengthy evolutionary history of these fearsome predators. Almost a century after its discovery, the specimen, named Proceratosaurus, has now been recognized as the oldest known relative of the Tyrannosauridae.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122538.htm

* Gratutious dino pics

Galvasean

Sciencedaily seem a bit late to the party. I reported this back in December 2009:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055730024&highlight=Proceratosaurus

I later mentioned it in the inappropriate names thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63683770&postcount=12

and also briefly mentioned it in a thread about the Permian Antarctic:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63376408&postcount=2

marco_polo

D'Oh should have searched a bit better, I knew I had read it somewhere else recently.

I think the paper is only being published this month so perhaps that is why they are only reporting on it now.