WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Chinese and U.S. scientists have reportedly found remains of what might have been primitive crested dinosaurs living 160 million years ago in China.
The scientists announced Wednesday analysis of two fossil specimens suggests they are remains of the most primitive tyrannosaur known -- or the first branch on the family tree leading to Tyrannosaurus rex, The New York Times reported.
James Clark, a paleontologist at George Washington University, said the discovery "shows us how ancestors of tyrannosaurus took the first step that led to the giant T. rex almost 100 million years later."
A research team led by Clark and Xing Xu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing named the new species Guanlong wucaii. The first name is derived from the Mandarin word for "crowned dragon" a reference to its large, fragile crest. The species name refers to the rich colors of the Junggar Basin, the remote discovery site north of the Tian Shan mountain range, the Times said.
The discovery, made in 2002, is reported in the current issue of the journal Nature.
