New Dinosaur, Long-Nosed 'Pinocchio Rex,' was Related to the Tyrannosaurus

Archaeologists have uncovered a new species of long-nosed dinosaur, nicknamed the Pinocchio rex, which stalked the Earth more than 66 million years ago. The new species, which belonged to the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex, was a fearsome carnivore that lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous period.

The Pinocchio rex, more formally named Qianzhousaurus sinensis, looks quite different from other tyrannosaurs, despite being related. It has an elongated skull and long, narrow teeth instead of the powerful jaws and thick teeth of a traditional tyrannosaur.

Researchers have actually discovered other specimens in the past; they found two fossilized tyrannosaurs with elongated heads. Yet because both were juveniles, scientists weren't sure whether they were a new class of dinosaur or if they were at an early growth stage. This latest specimen, though, settles the score on that account.

The new specimen is of an animal nearing adulthood. It was found largely intact and well-preserved, confirming that this was, in fact, a new species.

"This is a different breed of tyrannosaur," said Steve Brusatte, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It has the familiar toothy grin of T. rex, but its snout was much longer and it had a row of horns on its nose. It might have looked a little comical, but it would have been as deadly as any other tyrannosaur, and maybe even a little faster and stealthier."

It's likely that the Pinocchio rex lived alongside deep-snouted tyrannosaurs. Yet it probably wouldn't have been in direct competition with them since they were larger and hunted different prey. This new species probably lived until around 66 million years ago, which is when all of the dinosaurs became extinct due to a cataclysmic event-very likely a deadly asteroid impact.

"The new discovery is very important," said Junchang Lu, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Along with Alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia. Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia."

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.