In North Dakota's badlands, a rare fossil of an adolescent Tyrannosaurus rex, nicknamed "Teen Rex," was discovered two years ago by brothers Liam and Jessin Fisher, who were seven and 10 years old at the time, along with their nine-year-old cousin Kaiden Madsen. The discovery was announced by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and led to a dig at the site which will be featured in an upcoming documentary.
The kids were hiking with Liam and Jessin’s dad Sam Fisher, when they found a large leg bone sticking out of the ground. Sam reached out to paleontologist Tyler Lyson, who started the process that led to a dig last summer. Initially thought to belong to a plant-eating dinosaur, the team soon uncovered T. rex teeth, confirming it was the infamous carnivorous dinosaur. The fossil is believed to be from a T. rex that was about 13 to 15 years old, two-thirds the size of an adult T. rex, and lived around 67 million years ago near the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Many of Teen Rex’s bones are embedded in a three-ton rock that’s being studied and displayed at the Denver Museum. The finding is significant for understanding the growth and body changes of Tyrannosaurus rex during their adolescent years and might also provide insights into whether a smaller cousin, Nanotyrannus, existed alongside T. rex. A documentary titled "T. REX," featuring the excavation is set to be released on June 21st at IMAX and other museum theaters.
Source: US NEWS