New Mexico
New Species of Giant Tyrannosaur Discovered in New Mexico | Sci.News
The discovery of Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, a sister species of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, suggests that tyrannosaurid dinosaurs originated on Laramidia, an island continent that existed between 100 and 66 million years ago and stretched from modern-day Alaska to Mexico.
Life reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus mcraeen. Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy.
“Tyrannosaurid dinosaurs were the dominant predators in North America and Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch,” said Dr. Sebastian Dalman from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and his colleagues.
“Evolving from small-bodied ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous, they became apex predators in the latest Cretaceous, and finally saw the appearance of T. rex.”
“T. rex, characterized by a robust skeleton and powerful, bone-crushing jaws, was the dominant carnivore in the Late Maastrichtian of western North America.”
“Growing to 12 m long and 10 tons in weight, T. rex was the largest terrestrial predator of its time, and perhaps of all time.”
“Where and when Tyrannosaurini (T. rex and kin) originated remains unclear. Competing hypotheses place their origins in Asia, or western North America (Laramidia).”
The newly-identified species, Tyrannosaurus mcraeen, lived in what is now the United States between 71 and 73 million years ago, or between 5 and 7 million years before T. rex.
The dinosaur’s fossilized partial skull was found in the Hall Lake Formation of New Mexico.
Although the specimen was initially assigned to T. rex and was comparable in size to those of T. rex, the paleontologists propose that it belongs to a new species due to the presence of multiple subtle differences in the shape of, and joins between, the skull bones of the specimen and T. rex.
An analysis of the relationships between Tyrannosaurus mcraeen and other theropod dinosaur species indicates that Tyrannosaurus mcraeen may have been a sister species to T. rex, making it the closest known relative of T. rex.
The authors suggest that Tyrannosaurini may have originated in southern Laramidia, an island continent that existed between 100 and 66 million years ago and stretched from modern-day Alaska to Mexico.
Additionally, they propose that Tyrannosaurini may have evolved a giant body size by approximately 72 million years ago, alongside other giant dinosaurs from southern Laramidia such as ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, and titanosaurs.
They speculate that the evolution of giant tyrannosaurins may have been driven by the giant body sizes of herbivores that they preyed on in southern Laramidia.
“Evolution of giant tyrannosaurs in southern North America, alongside giant ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, and titanosaurs suggests large-bodied dinosaurs evolved at low latitudes in North America,” they said.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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S.G. Dalman et al. 2023. A giant tyrannosaur from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of southern North America and the evolution of tyrannosaurid gigantism. Sci Rep 13, 22124; doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-47011-0
A wild rat in New Mexico tested positive for the plague after four dogs were diagnosed with the troubling disease earlier this year, according to authorities.
A homeowner discovered the plague-ridden rodent dead on a private property in Santa Fe County and submitted it for testing, according to the New Mexico Health Department.
It is the first confirmed wild animal in Santa Fe County to test positive for the illness caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria in 2026, the health department said.
The case follows four other confirmed plague cases in dogs this year — including three pooches in Santa Fe County and one in Bernalillo County.
“While this is an animal case of plague, it’s important to remember humans can get plague from flea bites or direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, wildlife and even pets,” Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist for NMDOH, said in a statement.
“Pets can be infected with plague if they eat an infected animal or are bitten by infected fleas,” Smelser said.
Although human cases of the plague are rare, roughly half of all cases in the US each year occur in New Mexico, according to the health department.
The disease can be life-threatening without proper treatment, but if it’s caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics, officials added.
Symptoms in humans include sudden high fever, chills, headache, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes.
Infected pets similarly suffer from fever, low energy, loss of appetite, and swollen lymph nodes, experts added.
The New Mexico Health Department cautioned residents to take several steps to prevent themselves and their contracting the plague — including cleaning up areas near homes such as woodpiles, brush piles, junk and abandoned vehicles, where rodents could live.
Pet food and water should be kept away from where rodents and wildlife can get to them, and people should stay away from sick or dead rodents and rabbits.
Pets should use veterinarian-approved flea control products and be promptly taken to a veterinarian if they are sick.
Last year, a man in Arizona and a domestic cat in Colorado died of the bubonic plague.
A 43-year-old man from Valencia County in New Mexico was also hospitalized with the disease in 2025.
New Mexico
Ex-Barcelona defender takes over as new Mexico boss as Javier Aguirre leaves after England defeat | Goal.com US
.jpg?ssl=1 "Ex-Barcelona defender takes over as new Mexico boss as Javier Aguirre leaves after England defeat | Goal.com US")
The transition comes at a critical moment for Mexico. Marquez’s immediate priority is addressing the tactical shortcomings that proved costly against England. Defensive errors allowed players like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to secure the victory.
To fix this, Marquez will rely on his recent coaching experience. During his two-year spell managing Barcelona Atletic, Marquez oversaw 82 matches, recording 40 wins, 21 draws and 21 losses. This period in Spain helped him develop a structured approach to the game, which the federation hopes will translate into a more robust defensive system for the national side.
A few more storms are possible Wednesday in New Mexico. See the latest conditions at KOB.com/Weather.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The monsoon high has shifted just slightly west and is now centered between Arizona and New Mexico for Wednesday.
We’ll still have a similar setup to the last couple of days. Scattered showers and storms will form off the high terrain between late morning and early afternoon, moving slowly off in a clockwise fashion into nearby highlands and valley areas by mid and late afternoon/early evening before mostly fizzling out after the sun sets.
The mid and upper level moisture draped across the state is slightly below climatological normals for early July. Slightly less moisture will limit rainfall but stronger cells could easily drop a good half-inch or more.
Additional rainfall on the burn scars may lead to flash flooding. Tuesday saw at least 1.5 inches of radar estimated rainfall fall near and on the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon burn scar.
Storms will produce strong outflow, with gusts likely ranging from 20-40 mph. That may either undercut existing storms or help produce new cells.
Temperatures this afternoon will either be near the same as Tuesday or about one-to-two degrees warmer statewide. Those that get to see the rain first will cool off the fastest.
Higher elevations in the mountains are looking at highs getting into the 70s and 80s. Valleys, low-lying areas and the highlands will heat up into the 90s, with several spots looking at highs near the triple digits this afternoon, such as the lower Rio Grande Valley, and a few southern locales.
Wildfire smoke will also stick around. Most of it will stay lofted into the upper levels of the atmosphere but some light concentrations of it may make it down to the ground and could impact the air quality on a very localized scale for those that do get to see that. Areas around the Sacaton Fire in the Gila’s may see a slightly heavier concentration that could get blown around due to outflow from nearby storms this afternoon.
Meteorologist Amanda Goluszka shares all the details in her full forecast in the video above.
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