Until now, scientists were unsure if there was such a thing as a long-snouted tyrannosaur. Two specimens with elongated heads had been found, but both were juveniles. It was unclear whether they were a new type of tyrannosaur or simply a known type of dinosaur at a developmental stage whose skulls had not fully developed yet.

A fossil recently found in southern China, however, has confirmed the existence of a new type of tyrannosaur. Qianzhousaurus sinensis, commonly called “Pinocchio rex” is a relative of the T. Rex that lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous period. It had a elongated skull, and long narrow teeth while the T.Rex had thick teeth and more powerful jaws.

“This is a different breed of tyrannosaur. It has the familiar toothy grin of T. rex, but its snout was much longer and it had a row of horns on its nose. It might have looked a little comical, but it would have been as deadly as any other tyrannosaur, and maybe even a little faster and stealthier,” said Dr. Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences in a statement.

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, worked with the Edinburgh team on the excavation. They report that the specimen was an intact and incredibly well preserved animal nearing adulthood, confirming that it is in fact a new species.

“The new discovery is very important. Along with Alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia. Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia,” said Professor Junchang Lü.

Researchers do not believe that the animal would have been directly in competition with T.Rex. Qianzhousaurus sinensis was smaller than T. Rex and its long snout probably meant that it hunted different prey than its deep-snouted relative. Pinocchio rex is believed to have become extinct, along with the rest of the dinosaurs, about 66 million years ago.

Additional information on the researchers work is available in the latest edition of the journal Nature Communications.