Paleontologists have discovered a new giant predatory dinosaur, and it had tiny hands.
Meraxes Gigas, found in northern Patagonia, Argentina, roamed the earth millions of years before Tyrannosaurus rex. But Juan Canale, project manager at the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum in Neuquen, Argentina, tells CNN that Meraxes is not directly related to T. Rex.
Image credit: Carlos Papolio
After recovering an almost complete forelimb, paleontologists found that Meraxes had much smaller hands compared to the size of the rest of its body. Like a very famous predatory dinosaur we all know and love from the movies.
Despite the discovery of many fossils, the details of Meraxes’ anatomy have eluded scientists for nearly 30 years. The fossil, which researchers recently discovered, revealed much more about the carnivore, including that it was 36 feet long and weighed more than four tons.
The carnivores belong to the Carcharodontosaurid, a group of dinosaurs that inhabited most continents during the Early Cretaceous period.
While paleontologists continue to study the new bones to gain more insight into the Meraxes, they have been given a fitting name for now.
According to the scientific journal Current Biology, Meraxes is named after a dragon in A Song of Fire and Ice, ridden by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, who is set to appear in the upcoming series House of the Dragon.
Michelle Jalbert is a social coordinator and freelance contributor for IGN.
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