A new species of tyrannosaur that stalked North America around 80 million years ago has been discovered by scientists in Canada.

The dinosaur lived in the late Cretaceous Period, making it the oldest known tyrannosaur from North America, the BBC reports.

Another species of tyrannosaur, a Daspletosaurus, was found in Canada in 1970, a study says.

Researchers say the new discovery has given them insights into the evolution of tyrannosaurs.

Standing roughly 8ft (2.4m) tall, the predator would have cut an intimidating figure.

Like its tyrannosaur relatives, the carnivorous dinosaur had a long, deep snout, bumps on its skull and large steak-knife-like teeth measuring more than 7cm (2.7in) long.

The predator's name - Thanatotheristes degrootorum - translates to "Reaper of Death" from the Greek.

"We chose a name that embodies what this tyrannosaur was as the only known large apex predator of its time in Canada, the reaper of death," said Darla Zelenitsky, a palaeobiology professor who co-authored the study.

"The nickname has come to be Thanatos."