This handout artist's illustration made available by University of Calgary on June 6, 2025, shows the newly discovered dinosaur species Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, an ancestor of Tyrannosaurus Rex. - AFP
WASHINGTON: A newly identified mid-sized dinosaur from Mongolia dubbed the "Dragon Prince" has been identified as a pivotal forerunner of Tyrannosaurus rex in an illuminating discovery that has helped clarify the famous predator's complicated family history.
Named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, it lived roughly 86 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period and was an immediate precursor to the dinosaur lineage called tyrannosaurs, which included some of the largest meat-eating land animals in Earth's history, among them T. rex. Khankhuuluu predated Tyrannosaurus by about 20 million years.
