Nanotyrannus holotype was near maturity, not a juvenile
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Ben Creisler
Dec 4, 2025, 3:35:03 PM (3 days ago) Dec 4
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
News:
Return of the Short (Tyrant) King: A New Paper by Dinosaur Institute Researcher Shows Nanotyrannus Was Not a Juvenile T. rex
With the help of our T. rex growth series, researchers shows throat bones accurately record maturity in dinosaurs, establishing Nanotyrannus as a distinct species
A new paper with more support for Nanotyrannus:
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Christopher T. Griffin, Jeb Bugos, Ashley W. Poust, Zachary S. Morris, Riley S. Sombathy, Michael D. D’Emic, Patrick M. O’Connor, Holger Petermann, Matteo Fabbri and Caitlin Colleary (2025)
A diminutive tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex
Science (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1126/science.adx8706
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8706
Whether Nanotyrannus lancensis represents a distinct taxon or an immature Tyrannosaurus rex is a decades-long controversy. The N. lancesis holotype is an isolated skull and ceratobranchials, but limb osteohistology of Nanotyrannus-like individuals implies that these individuals were immature Tyrannosaurus, suggesting that the Nanotyrannus holotype is also immature. We demonstrate that ceratobranchial (‘hyoid’) histology is useful for ontogenetic assessment in extant and extinct archosaurs. The ceratobranchial histology of the N. lancensis holotype indicates that it was nearing or had reached skeletal maturity, suggesting that it is taxonomically distinct from the coeval Tyrannosaurus rex and that Hell Creek (and equivalent) ecosystems supported a diverse assemblage of predatory dinosaurs approaching the K-Pg extinction.
Christopher T. Griffin, Jeb Bugos, Ashley W. Poust, Zachary S. Morris, Riley S. Sombathy, Michael D. D’Emic, Patrick M. O’Connor, Holger Petermann, Matteo Fabbri and Caitlin Colleary (2025)
A diminutive tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex
Science (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1126/science.adx8706
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8706
Whether Nanotyrannus lancensis represents a distinct taxon or an immature Tyrannosaurus rex is a decades-long controversy. The N. lancesis holotype is an isolated skull and ceratobranchials, but limb osteohistology of Nanotyrannus-like individuals implies that these individuals were immature Tyrannosaurus, suggesting that the Nanotyrannus holotype is also immature. We demonstrate that ceratobranchial (‘hyoid’) histology is useful for ontogenetic assessment in extant and extinct archosaurs. The ceratobranchial histology of the N. lancensis holotype indicates that it was nearing or had reached skeletal maturity, suggesting that it is taxonomically distinct from the coeval Tyrannosaurus rex and that Hell Creek (and equivalent) ecosystems supported a diverse assemblage of predatory dinosaurs approaching the K-Pg extinction.
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News:
Return of the Short (Tyrant) King: A New Paper by Dinosaur Institute Researcher Shows Nanotyrannus Was Not a Juvenile T. rex
With the help of our T. rex growth series, researchers shows throat bones accurately record maturity in dinosaurs, establishing Nanotyrannus as a distinct species
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Also, the earlier Nature paper is now available in edited format:
Nanotyrannus lethaeus sp. nov.
Lindsay Zanno & James Napoli (2025)
Nanotyrannus and T. rex coexisted at the close of the Cretaceous
Nature (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09801-6
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09801-6
Lindsay Zanno & James Napoli (2025)
Nanotyrannus and T. rex coexisted at the close of the Cretaceous
Nature (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09801-6
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09801-6
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