A “MINI-ME” 9ft version of Tyrannosaurus rex looking almost identical to the king of the dinosaurs, but 100 times lighter, has been unearthed in China.

The dinosaur, named Raptorex kriegsteini, lived 125m years ago.

Although it predated T. rex by around 60m years, the two carnivores shared the same body plan, having a large skull, tiny forearms and athletic hind legs designed for running.

The discovery suggests the specialised physical features seen in T. rex did not evolve as meat-eating theropod dinosaurs grew in size, as most experts believe.

Instead, they seem to have been present throughout the Cretaceous period, during which the tyrannosaurs, which included T. rex, ruled at the top of the food chain.

An almost complete Raptorex skeleton was removed illicitly from an area of rich fossil-bearing rocks called the Yixian Formation, in Inner Mongolia.

The bones were bought by a private collector, Henry Kliegstein, who turned them over to US scientists at the University of Chicago.

A team led by Dr Paul Serano examined the fossils and their importance was revealed when it became clear this was an adult dinosaur bearing all the hallmarks of later giant tyrannosaurs but at a fraction of the size.

A skull cast showed the creature’s brain possessed the same enlarged olfactory bulbs as T. rex, indicating a highly developed sense of smell.

Teeth, jaw muscles, limbs, feet and head size relative to the body were all similar.

Raptorex had a body length of no more than three metres and weighed 65 kilograms about the same as an average human.

In contrast T. rex measured 12.4 metres stood 15 to 20 feet high, and weighed between five and seven tons.