A new, gigantic dinosaur species has been discovered by an international team of paleontologists in Argentina, according to a study published this week.

Dubbed Meraxes gigas, the 9,000-pound, 36 to 39-foot long meat-eating dinosaur is believed to have walked the Earth about 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period. Meraxes had short arms and a huge skull – similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex.

In their research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology on Thursday, the paleontologists noted that Meraxes’ big skull and and small arms in particular provide key clues about the evolution of these kinds of prehistoric predators – specifically how they hunted all those years ago.

Meraxes is a member of the the carcharodontosauridae family, a group of giant, carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. While the Meraxes looks similar to to the T. Rex, the two are not closely related – meaning they both developed their small arms and big skulls independently of one another.

FULL STORY HERE