The discovery of Yutyrannus changed how paleontologists thought about large tyrannosaurs. Feathers in this carnivorous relative of T. rex suggested that other large tyrannosaurs may have had them, too. Yutyrannus hunted during the early Cretaceous in China, around 125 million years ago, and was the top predator in its environment.
History
Three specimens of Yutyrannus huali are known, including an almost complete articulated skeleton of an adult. They were acquired from a fossil dealer who collected them from a single quarry in Liaoning Province, China. This important material was described and named in 2012. The name Yutyrannus stems from ‘yu’, the Mandarin word for feathers, and ‘tyrannus’, the Latin for tyrant. This name reflects the presence of feathers preserved alongside the bones, and the close kinship of Yutyrannus to other tyrannosaurs.
The feathers in Yutyrannus were filamentous, so it probably looked shaggy in life as it prowled around China hunting for prey. Yutyrannus is classified as an early tyrannosaur and was one of the first truly large examples of this group. It proves that at least some giant tyrannosaurs had feathers, and suggests that later tyrannosaurs, including T. rex, might also have had feathers.