New 'grim reaper' dinosaur discovered in Canada

Image source, Illustration by Julius Csotonyi.

Image caption, Thanatotheristes degrootorum is the first new tyrannosaur species to be found in Canada in 50 years

A new species of dinosaur has been discovered in Alberta, Canada.

It's after fossils dating back almost 80 million years were analysed.

The fossilised tyrannosaur skull fragments were discovered by a farmer and palaeontology lecturer John De Groot while he was on a walk with his wife.

He said: "We looked down and I kind of said jokingly 'Hey it looks like a dinosaur jaw!' We looked a little closer and it certainly was."

"The jawbone was an absolutely stunning find...We knew it was special because you could clearly see the fossilized teeth," he added.

Image source, University of Calgary and the Royal Tyrrell Museum

Image caption, Palaeontologists proudly show the fossils of the new species of tyrannosaur. Photo courtesy of the University of Calgary and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

The new species has been given the official name, Thanatotheristes degrootorum, but researchers at the University of Calgary have nicknamed it, "the reaper of death".

That is because its official name came from the Greek god of death Thanatos combined with theristes meaning "one who reaps or harvests".

After analysing the fossil and the shape of its skull, scientists were able to work out that the bones belonged to a creature almost two and a half metres tall with ridges in its upper jaw above its 7 cm teeth.

It is the first new species of tyrannosaur to be discovered in Canada in 50 years.

Sounds scary - but don't worry - they are still very much extinct!