Ancient T. rex ancestor discovered: Khankhuuluu, ‘prince of dragons'
Article content
Khankhuuluu mongoliensis — its scientific name — is an evolutionary ancestor of the most famous tyrannosaur, the 'tyrant lizard king,' T. rex.
Article content
Article content
Article content
With their bone-crushing bites and spindly little arms, large tyrannosaurs (scientifically known as 'eutyrannosaurians') are the celebrities of the dinosaur world. But they started off as small-bodied tyrannosauroids some 150 million years ago in the Jurassic period. It wasn't until the late Cretaceous that they began evolving into the giants that ignite people's imaginations.
Article content
Article content
Their precise evolutionary origins, however, have long been murky. A critical swath of the family tree is blank.
Article content
Khankhuuluu, known from two partial skeletons in fossil collections at the Institute of Paleontology in Mongolia, helps fill in this gap — a transitional 86 million-year-old species that represents the closest known ancestor to the famed late tyrannosaurs.
Article content
Previously, it had been described as an alectrosaurus, another early tyrannosaur. Asked for a modern-day comparison, University of Calgary graduate student Jared Voris, who led the work, said to imagine a large, predatory horse.
Article content
Article content
'What makes them so important is their age,' said Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study. 'They are about 86 million years old, a good 20 million years older than T. rex. It has been a frustrating gap in the record.'
Article content
Voris was on a research trip in Mongolia in 2023 when he sent a text halfway across the world to his adviser, Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor of paleontology. He told her that he thought some of the fossils he had examined in a museum collection were actually a new species.
Article content
Those specimens had been classified for decades as alectrosaurus, 'an enigmatic and poorly represented tyrannosauroid species,' Zelenitsky and Voris wrote in their study.
Article content
What leaped out to Voris initially was that the snout bone was hollow, a clear sign that this was an early ancestor of the tyrannosaur family. It was the first of what would come to be dozens of features that suggested this creature was something new.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
4 days ago
Alberta wastewater unlocked key information about COVID-19. Could it help with measles too?
As Alberta's measles outbreaks grow, researchers are now watching the province's wastewater for the highly contagious virus and hoping to determine if the technology could eventually serve as an early detection tool. The magnitude of Alberta's outbreaks and the speed at which cases are climbing has sparked widespread concern. As of midday Tuesday, 1,323 cases (new window) had been confirmed since the outbreaks began in March. Piggybacking off weekly wastewater samples, collected through the provincial COVID-19 surveillance program, the team has designed a test that can identify both the wild type measles virus (indicating actual infection) and vaccine-related shedding in the wastewater. Wastewater surveillance was shown to be very useful globally — internationally — during COVID-19, said Dr. Bonita Lee, a co-lead with the pan-Alberta Network for Wastewater Monitoring, which includes researchers from both the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. Samples are taken from 12 Alberta wastewater treatment plants sites each week and sent to the provincial lab for analysis. Once the testing for SARS-CoV-2 is complete, the researchers analyze the same samples for measles. Without any additional funding, the team began looking for the virus at the beginning of April, after the first cases were confirmed in Edmonton, according to Lee. They found measles virus signals in the water for that time period and they've since tracked provincial trends. Basically we have a lot of measles activity and it's increasing, said Lee, a professor of infectious diseases in the department of pediatrics at the University of Alberta. Scientists can't identify individual cases through this molecular testing. Instead they get a population-level view, she explained. Enlarge image (new window) Dr. Bonita Lee is a professor of infectious diseases in the department of pediatrics at the University of Alberta and a co-lead with the PAN Alberta Network for Wastewater Monitoring. Photo: Bonita Lee Alberta's official measles case count is widely believed, by doctors and scientists, to be an underestimate. And the provincial government's website (new window) acknowledges cases are likely going unreported and undetected in the hardest hit parts of the province. According to Lee, wastewater monitoring could be most helpful in areas where measles cases may be going undetected and public health officials want to better understand what's happening. It's never useful by itself. It will always be useful as a supplementary surveillance tool, she said. Early detection hopes Dr. Xiaoli Pang recently retired after working as a virologist in the provincial lab for 25 years and leading the wastewater surveillance program. Pang developed the initial SARS-CoV2 wastewater monitoring technology for the provincial lab and she designed the molecular test for measles as well. I believe measles is going to continue — probably getting worse and worse, she said, noting funding for wastewater monitoring has been dwindling since the peak of the pandemic. Our wastewater plays a very important role. So we really need to continue. The incubation period for measles can last up to two weeks, according to Pang, and this has sparked hopes that the technology could lead to earlier detection and provide information that could be used by health officials to take action. With SARS CoV2 monitoring, the team was able to identify peaks one to two weeks before actual case counts would rise, she said. They want to know if wastewater signals will work in the same way for measles. Enlarge image (new window) Dr. Xiaoli Pang is a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Alberta. She recently retired after working for 25 years as a virologist in the provincial lab and leading the provincial wastewater surveillanec program. Photo: University of Alberta More research is needed, she said, and it would require access to clinical case information data to determine the science behind how the wastewater signals correlate with actual confirmed case counts. We want to get clinical information … to compare the correlation. Are we really able to do earlier detection and provide useful information to public health [so they can] make some kind of decisions? said Pang, a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Alberta. For an effective monitoring program, more frequent sampling would be needed as well, according to the researchers. Alberta's wastewater surveillance program has been scaled back since the peak of the pandemic. Testing is done weekly rather than daily, she said, and they have to wait for access to the samples, which means real-time monitoring for measles is not possible. Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation, premature delivery and even death. The vast majority of Alberta's cases are among the unimmunized and more than 100 Albertans have been hospitalized due to the illness this year. The team has shared its early findings with provincial health officials. A spokesperson from the Alberta government confirmed it is aware of the research. Researchers from the University of Alberta have been exploring the use of wastewater surveillance for measles, an emailed statement said. Public health officials are reviewing this data to assess its relevance in the context of the current outbreak. In the long-term, Pang believes wastewater could play a key role in fighting new and emerging pathogens and even help identify the next pandemic. She hopes funding will be increased. Something may be new coming. If something really causes a huge problem in the near future, I think wastewater [will] play some kind of important role, she said. Wastewater we see as a really important complementary tool, especially for pandemic preparation. Jennifer Lee (new window) · CBC News · Reporter Jennifer Lee is a CBC News reporter based in Calgary. She worked at CBC Toronto, Saskatoon and Regina before landing in Calgary in 2002. If you have a health or human interest story to share, let her know.
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
Alberta wastewater unlocked key information about COVID-19. Could it help with measles too?
Social Sharing As Alberta's measles outbreaks grow, researchers are now watching the province's wastewater for the highly contagious virus and hoping to determine if the technology could eventually serve as an early detection tool. The magnitude of Alberta's outbreaks and the speed at which cases are climbing has sparked widespread concern. As of midday Tuesday, 1,323 cases had been confirmed since the outbreaks began in March. Piggybacking off weekly wastewater samples, collected through the provincial COVID-19 surveillance program, the team has designed a test that can identify both the wild type measles virus (indicating actual infection) and vaccine-related shedding in the wastewater. "Wastewater surveillance was shown to be very useful globally — internationally — during COVID-19," said Dr. Bonita Lee, a co-lead with the pan-Alberta Network for Wastewater Monitoring, which includes researchers from both the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. Samples are taken from 12 Alberta wastewater treatment plants sites each week and sent to the provincial lab for analysis. Once the testing for SARS-CoV-2 is complete, the researchers analyze the same samples for measles. Without any additional funding, the team began looking for the virus at the beginning of April, after the first cases were confirmed in Edmonton, according to Lee. They found measles virus signals in the water for that time period and they've since tracked provincial trends. "Basically we have a lot of measles activity and it's increasing," said Lee, a professor of infectious diseases in the department of pediatrics at the University of Alberta. Scientists can't identify individual cases through this molecular testing. Instead they get a population-level view, she explained. Alberta's official measles case count is widely believed, by doctors and scientists, to be an underestimate. And the provincial government's website acknowledges cases are likely going unreported and undetected in the hardest hit parts of the province. According to Lee, wastewater monitoring could be most helpful in areas where measles cases may be going undetected and public health officials want to better understand what's happening. "It's never useful by itself. It will always be useful as a supplementary surveillance tool," she said. Early detection hopes Dr. Xiaoli Pang recently retired after working as a virologist in the provincial lab for 25 years and leading the wastewater surveillance program. Pang developed the initial SARS-CoV2 wastewater monitoring technology for the provincial lab and she designed the molecular test for measles as well. "I believe measles is going to continue — probably getting worse and worse," she said, noting funding for wastewater monitoring has been dwindling since the peak of the pandemic," she said. "Our wastewater plays a very important role. So we really need to continue." The incubation period for measles can last up to two weeks, according to Pang, and this has sparked hopes that the technology could lead to earlier detection and provide information that could be used by health officials to take action. With SARS CoV2 monitoring, the team was able to identify peaks one to two weeks before actual case counts would rise, she said. They want to know if wastewater signals will work in the same way for measles. More research is needed, she said, and it would require access to clinical case information data to determine the science behind how the wastewater signals correlate with actual confirmed case counts. "We want to get clinical information … to compare the correlation. Are we really able to do earlier detection and provide useful information to public health [so they can] make some kind of decisions?" said Pang, a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Alberta. For an effective monitoring program, more frequent sampling would be needed as well, according to the researchers. Alberta's wastewater surveillance program has been scaled back since the peak of the pandemic. Testing is done weekly rather than daily, she said, and they have to wait for access to the samples, which means real-time monitoring for measles is not possible. Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation, premature delivery and even death. The vast majority of Alberta's cases are among the unimmunized and more than 100 Albertans have been hospitalized due to the illness this year. The team has shared its early findings with provincial health officials. A spokesperson from the Alberta government confirmed it is aware of the research. "Researchers from the University of Alberta have been exploring the use of wastewater surveillance for measles," an emailed statement said. "Public health officials are reviewing this data to assess its relevance in the context of the current outbreak." In the long-term, Pang believes wastewater could play a key role in fighting new and emerging pathogens and even help identify the next pandemic. She hopes funding will be increased. "Something may be new coming. If something really causes a huge problem in the near future, I think wastewater [will] play some kind of important role," she said.
National Observer
10-07-2025
- National Observer
‘Yuck factor': eating insects rather than meat to help the planet is failing, study finds
This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Recent efforts to encourage people to eat insects are doomed to fail because of widespread public disgust at the idea, making it unlikely insects will help people switch from the environmentally ruinous habit of meat consumption, a new study has found. Farming and eating insects has been touted in recent years as a greener alternative to eating traditional meat due to the heavy environmental toll of raising livestock, which is a leading driver of deforestation, responsible for more than half of global water pollution, and may cause more than a third of all greenhouse gases that can be allowed if the world is to avoid disastrous climate change, the new research finds. Despite this, the much lighter planetary cost of breeding and eating insects such as crickets, grasshoppers and ants is unlikely to be realized because people, particularly in western countries, remain repulsed at the idea of eating them, the researchers found. Public polling in the US and Europe has found that while as many as 91% of respondents would be willing to try plant-based 'alternative meats', only about 20% would consider eating insects. As well as a cultural 'yuck' factor, there are also economic barriers, the paper found, with most companies – the exception being a few protein bar startups – deciding to focus on raising species such as black soldier flies for animal, rather than human, consumption. 'Given these challenges, it is difficult to see how insect-based foods could significantly replace traditional meat options,' the paper, published in the Nature journal npj Sustainable Agriculture, states. While many people express a desire to eat food that is raised sustainably, relatively few in western countries have embraced vegetarianism and veganism. Meanwhile, global meat consumption is expected to increase in the coming decades amid rising demand from a newly wealthy cohort in countries such as China, placing additional stresses upon the land, waterways and the climate. 'We have limited resources and we need to devote them to the most promising alternatives,' said Dustin Crummett, the co-author of the study and executive director of the Insect Institute. 'It turns out that farmed insects consistently score the lowest of any of the meat substitutes and the actual market for them is incredibly small, even in places that have a tradition of eating insects.' Crummett said that while some efforts have been made to put insects into items such as snack bars and bread, they aren't being made into products that would actually dislodge meat consumption. 'All the talk about eating insects has not made a big difference. People still have a strong adverse reaction to insects and there is no cultural history of that,' he said. 'Changing longstanding culinary traditions and deep-seated disgust reactions is hard to do from the top down. If it were easy, more people would be eating plant-based foods.' Few governments have made any significant moves to curb meat consumption, despite its enormous impact upon the environment, fearing political backlash. Denmark, however, has provided a possible model of how to do this, unveiling a plan in 2023 to reduce meat eating and bolster the supply of plant-based foods. 'Plant-based foods are the future,' Jacob Jensen, Denmark's minister for food, agriculture and fisheries, said at the time. 'If we want to reduce the climate footprint within the agricultural sector, then we all have to eat more plant-based foods.' Crummett said that the Danish plan was a good starting point to craft an alternative to simply hoping that people will switch to insects. 'You have to meet people where they are,' he said. 'You need to make things easy and tasty, not just moralize and hector people. Once there are alternative products that are better based on taste, price and convenience, we will get some traction in reducing the impact of livestock.'
