Tyrannosaurids, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, have traditionally been portrayed by experts as formidable but solitary and dull-witted creatures because their skeletons were found alone.
But new research based on finds in the Gobi Desert suggests that the species was not only equipped with the build and speed for pack hunting, but also the brain capacity to work together as a team, experts claim.
Dr Philip Currie, of the University of Alberta, said that evidence from 90 skeletons of Tarbosaurus Bataar – a cousin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex – suggested strongly that about half a dozen of the dinosaurs were part of a social group that died together.
He said Tyrannosaurids' hunting technique may have involved juveniles chasing and catching prey, with fully grown adults taking over and delivering the fatal bites.
This is because younger Tyrannosaurids' skeletons show they would have been faster and more agile than adults, which were slower but much heavier and more powerful.
The close similarities between the Tyrannosaurid family – as well as evidence from a quarry site in South Dakota, USA where three Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletons were found in close proximity – mean that Tyrannosauruses would likely have been capable of the same behaviour as their cousins, Dr Currie said.
He added: "We now have a lot of sites worldwide which show these Tyrannosaurids were grouping animals which at certain times did get together into gangs, either to hunt or move from one region to another.
Read more and see the video at The Telegraph
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