The giant fierce predators Tyrannosaurus rex were likely more outgoing and social than previously thought, according to new research. These conclusions were reached by paleontologists who studied fossils found in 2014 inside the Gradn-Staerkas Escalante National Monument in the US state of Utah. A group of four or five Tyrannosaurs died together during the seasonal flood.
“There is no doubt that this group died together, which adds to the growing body of evidence that tyrannosaurids were able to interact like pack animals,” the article concluded.
It was previously thought that Tyrannosaurus rex are a solitary species. This is primarily due to both the enormous size of the animal itself and its brain.
Paleontologists also remembered the previously found mass grave of Tyrannosaurus rex in Alberta, Canada. “The new Utah site adds to the growing body of evidence that tyrannosaurs were complex, large predators capable of social behaviors common to many of their living bird cousins,” the authors point out. Scientists are planning to further study the social connections of tyrannosaurs, reports The Guardian.
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