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The Tyrannosaur Thread- Anything T. rex or tyrannosaurid related

Adam Khor

New giant tyrannosaurid!

It's called Zhuchengtyrannus magnus, was just a tad smaller than T. rex (11 m long and 6 tons) and fed on giant hadrosaur Shantungosaurus.

zhuchengtyrannus.jpg?w=500&h=419

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Squeaky the Squirrel

FYI: How Do You Ship A Dinosaur Halfway Around The World?

Adam Khor

Lythronax, new "king of gore" tyrannosaur

Expect many excessively bloody illustrations of this critter during the following months. It was not very big, but had a short wide snout and big teeth much like Tyrannosaurus rex despite being the oldest tyrannosaurid known.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/06/lythronax-argestes-tyrannosaurs

Manach

Excellent article, for a second misread it and though it was name lynx-thronx - corporate sponsorship a step too far

Galvasean

Is that the smallest tyrannosaurid known?

Adam Khor

No, both Teratophoneus and Alioramus are smaller... but then again I think they're both known from juvenile individuals only...:eek:

Adam Khor

At last, a tyrannosaur trackway- may be from Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus or Daspletosaurus- shows these theropods did travel (hunt?) in small groups at least part of the time. In this case, three tyrannosaurs aged 20 to 30 were walking side by side, although keeping a respectful distance from each other.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi/10.1371/journal.pone.0103613

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/23/tyrannosaurs-hunted-packs-tracks-canada

Kess73

Cannot be the only one that thought of Phil Currie straight away?

Adam Khor

Still no evidence of pack hunting with adults and juveniles working together, tho

Galvasean

Kess73 wrote: »

Cannot be the only one that thought of Phil Currie straight away?

I'd say he blew a gasket when he heard about it!

Adam Khor

Nothing unexpected but very interesting all the same. Daspletosaurus joins Tyrannosaurus and Gorgosaurus/Albertosaurus as a known tyrannosaur cannibal.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/giant-cannibalistic-dinosaurs-engaged-in-ritualistic-fighting-10166911.html

Linnaeus

I maintain that violent death among dinosaurs was often provoked by members of their same species, in their rivalry over mates, food or territory. However, it seems far less likely that dinos of the same kind would have systematically hunted each other. As for cannibalism, this occurs even today among certain species, but usually after an individual dies a natural death or is killed by a predator which is not a member of the same species. I wonder if, in the case of a battle between two Daspletosaurs, the victor would have devoured his victim. There were probably ferocious fights between these beasts, but I think that most of the Daspletosaurs that got devoured were probably just scavenged upon. Well, if it was another Daspletosaur that did the scavenging, then this was cannibalism just the same.

Rubecula

many species still practice cannibalism. No need to expect dino behaviour to be any different.

Adam Khor

Large theropod teeth suggest previously unknown form of large theropod coexisted with tyrannosaurids in Asia during the late Cretaceous.

http://phys.org/news/2015-05-large-theropod-teeth-upper-cretaceous.html

Linnaeus

China never fails to astound us, due to the vast number of significant palaeontological discoveries made there every year. Dr Xu Xing is China's foremost palaeontologist. He and his team have unearthed hundreds of new species in the last 15 years. Dr Xu is an expert on avian evolution. He has conducted profound studies on recently discovered "paravian" theropods such as the controversial Aurornis.

Adam Khor

The tracks were probably made by a young T. rex

http://www.heritagedaily.com/2016/01/researcher-tracks-tyrannosaurs-trail/109253

Adam Khor

This very interesting paper suggests albertosaurines such as Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus (which may conceivably be one single genus) had a system akin to a lateral line that allowed them to better detect wind direction and align according to it during the hunt.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187064

Adam Khor

Juvenile T. rex, or Nanotyrannus? The debate continues.
http://today.ku.edu/2018/03/21/researchers-investigate-baby-tyrannosaur-fossil-unearthed-montana

Adam Khor

TIL Albertosaurus was named the same year Alberta became a province.

https://royaltyrrellmuseum.wordpress.com/2018/08/12/the-discovery-of-canadas-first-known-meat-eating-dinosaur/

Today we have many more remains and know far more about Albertosaurus. It could grow up to 9, maybe 10 meters long, had a bite force comparable to that of a great white shark, and was the dominant predator in North America from 71 to 68 million years ago. It apparently went extinct at about the same time as Tyrannosaurus rex appeared in North America.

Adam Khor

Dynamoterror, a new tyrannosaurid.

The name is an homage to "Dynamosaurus imperiosus", which is what T. rex was almost called at one point.

https://gizmodo.com/rare-t-rex-relative-discovered-in-new-mexico-1829629491?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Rubecula

interesting I wonder how they may have evolved if they had survived? so many of them.

Adam Khor

There's between 12 and 15 tyrannosaurid genera currently described, and they span a considerably time period (from around 80 to 66 million years), yet their basic body plan changes practically nothing in all that time. So you have the oldest tyrannosaurid known from good remains, Lythronax:

lythronax-argestes-dinosaur.jpg?w968h681

lythronax-argestes-dinosaur.jpg?w968h681

looking almost exactly as the latest tyrannosaurids such as Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus:

I think this is a case of "if it's not broken don´t fix it". Tyrannosaurids were perfectly adapted to what they were doing, so maybe if they hadn´t gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, and as long as there were large prey to sustain them, chances are they would have remained pretty much the same for a very long time, like crocodiles, perhaps with outliers here and then adapted to alternate prey (fish-eating tyrannosaur?) or environment (island dwelling, mini-tyrannosaurs?)

Rubecula

Adam Khor wrote: »

There's between 12 and 15 tyrannosaurid genera currently described, and they span a considerably time period (from around 80 to 66 million years), yet their basic body plan changes practically nothing in all that time. So you have the oldest tyrannosaurid known from good remains, Lythronax:

looking almost exactly as the latest tyrannosaurids such as Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus:

I think this is a case of "if it's not broken don´t fix it". Tyrannosaurids were perfectly adapted to what they were doing, so maybe if they hadn´t gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, and as long as there were large prey to sustain them, chances are they would have remained pretty much the same for a very long time, like crocodiles, perhaps with outliers here and then adapted to alternate prey (fish-eating tyrannosaur?) or environment (island dwelling, mini-tyrannosaurs?)

you mirror my own ideas Adam. so perhaps we are not too far from the truth.

Adam Khor

More remains from mysterious eastern North American tyrannosauroids

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329687124_LARGE_BASAL_TYRANNOSAUROIDS_FROM_THE_MAASTRICHTIAN_AND_TERRESTRIAL_VERTEBRATE_DIVERSITY_IN_THE_SHADOW_OF_THE_K-PG_EXTINCTION

The find is interesting because usually, tyrannosaurids such as T. rex are believed to have been the very last group of giant theropods to roam North America. However, these limb remains from 9+ meter theropods support the idea that eastern North America had a different fauna from the west, and that the top predator niche was filled by a different linneage of tyrannosauroids, probably more similar to Dryptosaurus:

(Dryptosaurus having inspired this very famous Charles Knight painting popularly known as the Leaping Lizards, back when the animal was known as Laelaps):

Dryptosaurus%2Bsaltando.jpg

Sadly no good skeletons of Dryptosaurus and kin have been found yet, but they are believed to have been less derived than tyrannosaurids proper, and seem to have had longer, more powerful arms. Sometimes they have been reconstructed with three clawed fingers on each hand:

photos.medleyphoto.2228493.jpg

Or with two but proportionally much larger than in tyrannosaurids:

Drypto+at+Dunn+1.jpg?format=1500w

More remains needed as usual.

Adam Khor

Small tyrannosauroid named after Greek god of impending doom

This is an interesting find, as it shows what tyrannosauroids looked like and what niche they occupied 96 million years ago, a time in which North America was still ruled by allosaur-type creatures.

The new tyrannosauroid is called Moros intrepidus, was about 3.5 m long and would've been a fast running predator of small animals, thus avoiding competition with the likes of the contemporary Siats (the dominant predator at the time as far as we know).

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/02/new-tiny-t-rex-relative-moros-fills-north-american-fossil-gap/

Victor

https://twitter.com/IrishCoastGuard/status/1100425590933471234

Adam Khor

A new study suggests the Canadian T. rex known as "RSM P2523.8" (a.k.a. "Scotty") exceeds even the famous Sue/FMNH PR2081 (until now considered the largest T. rex specimen known from decent remains) in weight, estimated at almost 9 tons.

The body mass of RSM P2523.8 is
thus estimated to be ~8,870 kgs (+/- 25%).

It would thus be the heaviest T. rex on record, but not necessarily the longest or tallest:

notably
exceeds all T. rex specimens that have been previously categorized as robust (Larson, 2008b).
However, in many length measurements (proximodistal femoral, tibial and jaw length) RSM
P2523.8 is exceeded by some individuals previously categorized as gracile (Larson, 2008b).
Whether or not a robust/gracile dichotomy exists among T. rex, these comparisons indicate that
RSM P2523.8 was a large and robustly-proportioned individual, but likely with a shorter total
hip-height and snout-vent length than other known specimens showing more elongate
proportions

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...6lrXXD1-pKQdk&

This would make "RSM P2523.8/ "Scotty" heavier than any other giant theropod for which there's reliable estimates, although the study does accept that there's a much more fragmentary record for the likes of Giganotosaurus, Tyrannotitan and Spinosaurus, and new finds may show these grew just as large if not larger.

Although RSM P2523.8 has an estimated weight more than 40% greater than the next
largest known theropod taxon, specimens of several other theropod species (including
Giganotosaurus carolinii and Tyrannotitan chubutensis) have femoral proportions indicative of
body masses greater than those of most other adult T. rex specimens. As
such, it is likely that further sampling of these other giant theropods, all of which are represented
by fewer specimens than T. rex, may yield larger individuals that match or surpass the size of
RSM P2523.8. In the case of Giganotosaurus carolinii, a sing dentary is known that does hint at
a greater maximum size (Calvo, 2000).

Scotty_Tim_Eric3.jpg?fbclid=IwAR2g0Cb72gcZsvub2fqU1sh6pdgHLYxPdMVr2PJ0tBTuUjtBUJaaw5OJjrU

Adam Khor

How T. rex lost its third claw:

https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/t-rex-third-claw

Adam Khor

Possible tyrannosauroid tooth found in Japan

https://www.sankei.com/life/photos/190419/lif1904190032-p3.html

Adam Khor

T. rex specimen for sale on eBay, and paleontologists of course are less than happy:

https://www.livescience.com/65296-baby-t-rex-ebay-auction.html

Although listed as a "baby T. rex", in reality it would have been 4 years old or so at the moment of death, and around 4.5 m long, so hardly a baby anymore; still, juvenile T. rex specimens are extremely rare. Hatchlings, as far as I know, have never been discovered, and neither have nests or eggs, meaning practically everything about T. rex' early life is unknown.

Here's a reconstruction of this particular specimen, nicknamed "Baby Bob" and "Son of Samson" (Samson being another T. rex that was also auctioned):

And here's the actual fossil:

Adam Khor

Small, potential ancestor to T. rex found in New Mexico, named Suskityrannus or "coyote-like tyrant".

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/suskityrannus-hazelae/

img_evelasco_20190506-160519_imagenes_lv_terceros_suskityrannus_hazelae_trees-kpSC-U4620721585050KD-992x558@LaVanguardia-Web.jpg

img_evelasco_20190506-160519_imagenes_lv_terceros_suskityrannus_hazelae_trees-kpSC-U4620721585050KD-992x558@LaVanguardia-Web.jpg

At only one meter tall at the hips it was only a fraction of T. rex's size but is very similar, proportion-size, to juvenile T. rex.

Here's the fragments of Suskityrannus' skeleton compared to T. rex's jaw:

IMG_3511.width-800.jpg