Diminutive fleet-footed tyrannosauroid narrows the 70-million-year gap in the North American fossil record

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dc.contributor.authorZanno, Lindsay E.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorTucker, Ryan T.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorCanoville, Auroreen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorAvrahami, Haviv M.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorGates, Terry A.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMakovicky, Peter J.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-10T06:48:56Z
dc.date.available2022-05-10T06:48:56Z
dc.date.issued2019-02-21
dc.descriptionCITATION: Zanno, Lindsay E. et al. 2019. Diminutive fleet-footed tyrannosauroid narrows the 70-million-year gap in the North American fossil record. Communications Biology, 2:64, doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0308-7.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
dc.descriptionPublication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
dc.description.abstractTo date, eco-evolutionary dynamics in the ascent of tyrannosauroids to top predator roles have been obscured by a 70-million-year gap in the North American (NA) record. Here we report discovery of the oldest Cretaceous NA tyrannosauroid, extending the lineage by ~15 million years. The new taxon-Moros intrepidus gen. et sp. nov.-is represented by a hind limb from an individual nearing skeletal maturity at 6-7 years. With a ~1.2-m limb length and 78-kg mass, M. intrepidus ranks among the smallest Cretaceous tyrannosauroids, restricting the window for rapid mass increases preceding the appearance of colossal eutyrannosaurs. Phylogenetic affinity with Asian taxa supports transcontinental interchange as the means by which iconic biotas of the terminal Cretaceous were established in NA. The unexpectedly diminutive and highly cursorial bauplan of NA's earliest Cretaceous tyrannosauroids reveals an evolutionary strategy reliant on speed and small size during their prolonged stint as marginal predators.en_ZA
dc.description.versionPublisher's version
dc.format.extent12 pages : color illustrations, mapsen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZanno, Lindsay E. et al. 2019. Diminutive fleet-footed tyrannosauroid narrows the 70-million-year gap in the North American fossil record. Communications Biology, 2:64, doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0308-7en_ZA
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.1038/s42003-019-0308-7
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125200
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherSpringer Nature
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain copyright
dc.subjectTyrannosauroids -- North Americaen_ZA
dc.subjectTyrannosauridae -- Phylogenyen_ZA
dc.subjectCretaceous tyrannosauroids -- North Americaen_ZA
dc.subjectPredatorsen_ZA
dc.subjectReptiles, Fossilen_ZA
dc.subjectFossils -- Collection and preservationen_ZA
dc.titleDiminutive fleet-footed tyrannosauroid narrows the 70-million-year gap in the North American fossil recorden_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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