A relative of T. rex whose uniqueness was chronicled by Carthage professor Thomas Carr has been named one of the top dinosaur discoveries of last year.

Smithsonian.com's "Dinosaur Tracking" blog tagged Teratophoneus curriei among "The Greatest Dinosaur Hits of 2011". Prof. Carr, an associate professor of biology and director of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology, described the dinosaur in a scientific journal and a chapter of his doctoral dissertation. A group from Brigham Young University discovered the Teratophoneus bones in Utah.

Teratophoneus curriei

The species is unique in part for its short, deep skull, according to Prof. Carr. Most other dinosaurs in the lineage shared with Tyrannosaurus rex featured longer and lower snouts. Prof. Carr said the discovery of Teratophoneus, which predated its more famous relative by an estimated 8 million years, also shed light on how T. rex evolved.

"We're really filling up the T. rex side of the family tree," said Prof. Carr, who helped name the dinosaur for Canadian paleontologist Philip J. Currie. It translates to "Currie's Monstrous Murderer."