课题组证明，角状鳃裂（“舌骨”）组织学是对现存和灭绝的祖龙个体发生评估的主题。矮暴龙全型的角鼻鳃组织学表明，它接近或已经达到骨骼成熟，这表明它在分类上不同于同时期的霸王龙，并且Hell Creek（及同期）生态系统支持了接近K-Pg灭绝的各种掠食性恐龙组合。
据悉，到底矮暴龙是一个独立的分类群，还是一只未成年的霸王龙，这是一个长达数十年的争论。矮暴龙样个体的肢体骨组织学表明，这些个体是未成熟的暴龙，这表明矮暴龙样个体也是未成熟的。
附：英文原文
Title: A diminutive tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex
Author: Christopher T. Griffin, Jeb Bugos, Ashley W. Poust, Zachary S. Morris, Riley S. Sombathy, Michael D. D’Emic, Patrick M. O’Connor, Holger Petermann, Matteo Fabbri, Caitlin Colleary
Issue&Volume: 2025-12-04
Abstract: Whether Nanotyrannus lancensis represents a distinct taxon or an immature Tyrannosaurus rex is a decades-long controversy. The N. lancesis holotype is an isolated skull and ceratobranchials, but limb osteohistology of Nanotyrannus-like individuals implies that these individuals were immature Tyrannosaurus, suggesting that the Nanotyrannus holotype is also immature. We demonstrate that ceratobranchial (‘hyoid’) histology is useful for ontogenetic assessment in extant and extinct archosaurs. The ceratobranchial histology of the N. lancensis holotype indicates that it was nearing or had reached skeletal maturity, suggesting that it is taxonomically distinct from the coeval Tyrannosaurus rex and that Hell Creek (and equivalent) ecosystems supported a diverse assemblage of predatory dinosaurs approaching the K-Pg extinction.
DOI: adx8706
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8706