Isolated teeth of basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Phu Noi locality, Thailand. Image credit: Chowchuvech et al.
SciNews has a story about basal tyrannosaurs in Thailand durng the late Jurassic Period. Three isolated tyrannosaur teeth have been found in the Phu Noi locality, Kham Muang district, Kalasin province, northeastern Thailand. While other dinosaurs are known from the area, these teeth represent the first evidence of tyrannosaurs in Southeast Asia. The discovery greatly expands the paleobiogeographical distribution of tyrannosauroids. Read all about the exciting implications of this find in a paper published in the journal Tropical Natural History.
The specimens date back to the Tithonian age of the Jurassic period, about 145 million years ago.
“The Phu Noi locality is renowned as one of the most prolific Mesozoic vertebrate deposits in Southeast Asia,” the paleontologists said.
“Numerous species have been unearthed from this site, including freshwater sharks, ray-finned fishes, lungfishes, amphibians, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs.”
“Within the Phu Noi locality, three dinosaur species have been identified, comprising a metriacanthosaurid theropod, a mamenchisaurid sauropod, and the basal neornithischians Minimocursor phunoiensis.”
