New Pygmy Tyrannosaur Found, Roamed the Arctic
At 20 feet long, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi measured about half the size of T. rex.
A great discovery came in a small package for paleontologists who've unearthed a new species of tiny tyrannosaur in northern Alaska.
Dubbed Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, the polar pygmy measured about 20 feet (6 meters) long, about half the size of its close relative Tyrannosaurus rex. The first part of the dinosaur's name, Nanuq, means "polar bear" in the Alaska Inupiat language, a nod to the tyrannosaur's role as top predator in its late Cretaceous environment. Hoglundi honors philanthropist Forrest Hoglund, according to a new study, which appeared March 12 in the journal PLOS ONE.
Paleontologists nearly overlooked N. hoglundi as they searched for a type of horned dinosaur in the Prince Creek formation in 2006. While removing 70-million-year-old
