The tyrannical children were about the size of Border Collies when they took their first steps – despite being able to grow up to 40 feet, according to a study published Monday.
A team of paleontologists made the discovery by examining the first known fossils of tyrannosaur embryos.
“These bones are the first window into the early life of tyrannosaurs and teach us about the size and appearance of baby tyrannosaurs,” said paleontologist Greg Funston of the University of Edinburgh in a statement.
The researchers, led by Funston, used fossilized remains of a tiny bone and claw, unearthed in Montana and Alberta, Canada, and created 3D scans to analyze the bones.
Their findings suggest that meat-eating creatures – cousins of T-Rex dinosaurs that lived more than 70 million years ago – were only 3 meters long when they hatched.
This would make them the size of a regular dog breed – and much larger than the dino children seen hatching in movies like “Jurassic Park”.
“Tyrannosaurs with hatching would have been among the largest animals to ever emerge from an egg,” Funston wrote in a blog post about the research.
His team also estimated that tyrannosaurus eggs were about 17 centimeters long – a finding said researchers could help identify these eggs more easily in the future and gain a greater perspective on nesting habits. of creatures.
Further analysis showed that tyrannosaurs were born with distinct physical traits, including a “pronounced chin” – making them look “remarkable as their parents”, who could weigh up to 8 tons as adults, the researchers said.
“These are just the first clues to understanding baby tyrannosaurs,” Funston wrote, “but now we know where to look and what to look for.”
The study was published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences and included researchers from the universities of Alberta, Calgary, Montana and Chapman, California.