National Briefing | Science And Health: Scientists Find An Early T. Rex Of The South
Published: April 16, 2005
Paleontologists have identified a new dinosaur species, an early relative of Tyrannosaurus rex that probably roamed what is now the southeastern United States about 77 million years ago. The scientists made the identification from hundreds of fossilized fragments that were mostly collected in Montgomery County, Ala., and southwestern Georgia. The paleontologists named the new dinosaur Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis, which means ''the Appalachian lizard from Montgomery County.'' The 25-foot-long dinosaur roamed the earth 10 million years before T. rex and was smaller and more primitive, with a narrower snout.