In January, researchers stated that they discovered a species closely related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex and a descendant of the Tyrannosaurus. This new information may alter our understanding of the origins of the T. Rex and its prevalence in North America. 

This newly found species is named the “Tyrannosaurus Mcraeenis” and was found in 1983 as a partial fossilized skull disguised as a T. Rex, with its skull being a similar size. This was until 2013, when a team of paleontologists decided to study the skull once more after noticing some subtle differences between the two skulls, mainly in their jaw structure. The T. Rex had more teeth and a larger jaw, theoretically giving it more bite force. The T. Rex also had a prominent ridge over its eyes, which was used for attracting mates. The team of paleontologists determined that the skull dates back over 70 million years in the Cretaceous Period, making it older than the T. Rex. The size of the fossilized skull leads researchers to believe that it was around the same size as the typical adult T. Rex at around 12 feet and 40 tons, although there could be larger or smaller variations of the species.

This apex predator lived almost exclusively on an ancient land mass called “Laramidia '' along with their other relatives, which is also where it is believed that the Tyrannosaurus species lineage originated. Larmadia birthed an array of dinosaur species, many of which haven’t been discovered and were even mistaken for others Up until this point, it was believed that the closest relatives to the T. Rex were the “Tarbosaurus bataar” and “Zhuchengtyrannus Magnus” of what is now China and Mongolia, and have several other relatives all across what is now Asia.