It's real.

And it's spectacular.

Sometimes, one fossil really can change everything you think you know. NEW PAPER (see bottom of thread) AND 🧵 For paleontologists and dinofans, Nanotyrannus needs no introduction. This unassuming little skull is the unlikely focus of the most infamous debate in paleontology. Is it its own species? Or is it a young T. rex? It seems like a simple question - but its been very hard to solve.

Yesterday, @TIME broke news of a landmark advance in gene editing and de-extinction. This piece has proven divisive, and many criticisms I have seen are misplaced or incorrect. This 🧵 is intended to provide my take, based on my own expertise, and set the record straight. First:
1) I am not affiliated with or paid by @colossal
2) I am acutely aware of the ethical issues inherent to de-extinction, in concept and in practice
3) Colossal has made many big claims, which they need to back up.
4) This thread is my opinion alone, not that of my employer

Is Tyrannosaurus rex the one true king of the Cretaceous? Our new paper reviews the evidence🧵
link.springer.com/article/10.100…

#paleontology #dinosaur #fossil #scicomm #museum #AcademicTwitter
(art by @MarkWitton, who graciously gave us permission to use his work for this project)

1/16 In March, a team of researchers published a provocative new idea: Tyrannosaurus rex, the most famous dinosaur, wasn't one dinosaur at all, but three separate species that were so similar all prior researchers had missed their differences.
link.springer.com/article/10.100…

2/16