Lythronax argestes was huge carnivore that inhabited Laramidia, an island landmass formed on the western coast of a shallow sea that flooded the central region of North America 80 million years ago, scientists at the University of Utah reported Wednesday.
A hunter dinosaur weighing 2.5 tons has been discovered in the desert and named the “King of Gore.”
The terrifying creature had a wide rear skull, a short narrow snout and forward-looking eyes, with knife-like teeth which made it every bit the Jurassic Park monster.
Scientists have now named it Lythronax argestes, translated as “King of Gore of the South West,” due to its fierce appearance and the location where it was found.
Paleontologists believe the dinosaur was the largest living predator of its time with a big skull and huge teeth.
Bones of the 24-foot-long dinosaur were unveiled at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City.
It had several unique features not shared by all of its tyrannosaurus cousins, including a short narrow snout in a skull that was wide in the back and carried forward-oriented eyes, they said.
"The width of the back of the skull of Lythronax allowed it to see with an overlapping field of view - giving it the binocular vision - very useful for a predator and a condition we associate with T. rex," study author Mark Lowen said.
Lythronax lived alongside a range of horned dinosaurs and duck-billed hadrosaurs, which it probably hunted for food.
Dr. Philip Currie, another co-author from the University of Alberta in Canada, said: "Lythronax is a wonderful example of just how much more we have to learn about with world of dinosaurs.
"Many more exciting fossils await discovery in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument."
By Ruchi Singh
