New dinosaur species found in east China

     JINAN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists said Saturday that they have found a new species of giant theropod dinosaur¹ in the eastern province of Shandong.

    The new species, described as a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex), has been named "Zhuchengtyrannus magnus". Paleontological(古生物学) experts found it has unique upper jawbones after examining the skull² and jawbones discovered in the city of Zhucheng.

    It was estimated to be about 11 meters long and 4 meters tall, weighing close to 7 tonnes.

    "We discovered two kinds of tyrannosaurus fossils here and the identity of the other one still remains³ unclear," said Xu Xing, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

    "We've named the new genus Zhuchengtyrannus magnus, which means the 'Tyrant⁴ from Zhucheng' because the bones were found in Zhucheng," Xu said.

    The bones were a few centimeters smaller than the similar bones in the largest T. Rex specimen⁵, so there was no doubt that Zhuchengtyrannus was a huge tyrannosaur, Xu said.

    According to Xu, Zhuchengtyrannus magnus belonged to a specialized⁶ group of gigantic theropods called tyrannosaurines which existed in North America and eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period that dated back about 65 to 99 million years.

    All tyrannosaurs were carnivorous, bipedal animals that generally had small arms and large skulls⁷. Among the tyrannosaurs, the tyrannosaurines were the largest and characterized by having just two fingers on each hand and large powerful jaws⁸ to deliver a bone crushing bite. They were likely both predators⁹ and scavengers.

    The fossil quarry¹⁰ in Zhucheng contains one of the largest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world. At least 10 dinosaur species have been found in three rounds of excavations¹¹ since the 1960s, including Tyrannosaurus and Hadrosaurs.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

2 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

8 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

9 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

11 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句