"We named the new species Zhuchengtyrannus magnus, which means the 'Great Tyrant from Zhucheng,' because the bones were found in the city of Zhucheng, in eastern China's Shandong province," said researcher David Hone, a paleontologist at the University College Dublin in Ireland.
Zhuchengtyrannus was a tyrannosaurine, a member of a group of huge theropods, or "beast-footed" dinosaurs, that included T. rex and its closest relatives. They were known for their small arms, two-fingered hands and large, powerful jaws that could have delivered powerful, bone-crushing bites.
"It's the first China-only tyrannosaurine, and it's one of the biggest ever — there are only five carnivorous theropods bigger by my count," Hone told LiveScience.
The tyrannosaurines were likely both predators and scavengers, and lived in North America and eastern Asia during the late Cretaceous period, which lasted from about 99 million to 65 million years ago.
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