Tyrannosaurus
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"T. rex" redirects here. For the Marc Bolan fronted rock band, see T. Rex (band). For other uses, see T. Rex (disambiguation).
| Tyrannosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 68–66 Ma | |
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| Reconstruction of the type specimen (CM 9380) of the Tyrannosaurus at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Tyrannosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Tyrannosaurinae |
| Tribe: | †Tyrannosaurini Osborn, 1906 |
| Genus: | †Tyrannosaurus Osborn, 1905 |
| Type species | |
| †Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 | |
| Synonyms | |
Tyrannosaurus (/tᵻˌrænəˈsɔːrəs/ or /taɪˌrænəˈsɔːrəs/, meaning "tyrant lizard", from the Ancient Greek tyrannos (τύραννος), "tyrant", and sauros (σαῦρος), "lizard"[1]) is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. Thespecies Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning "king" in Latin), commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is one of the most well-represented of the large theropods. Tyrannosaurus lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian age of the upperCretaceous Period, 68 to 66 million years ago.[2] It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids,[3] and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Like other tyrannosaurids, Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to its large and powerful hind limbs, Tyrannosaurus fore limbs were short but unusually powerful for their size and had two clawed digits. The most complete specimen measures up to 12.3 m (40 ft) in length,[4] up to 4 meters (13 ft) tall at the hips,[5] and up to 6.8 metric tons (7.5 short tons) in weight.[6]Although other theropods rivaled or exceeded Tyrannosaurus rex in size, it is still among the largest known land predators and is estimated to have exerted the largest bite force among all terrestrial animals.[7][8] By far the largest carnivore in its environment, Tyrannosaurus rex was most likely an apex predator, preying upon hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, and possibly sauropods.[9] Some experts, however, have suggested the dinosaur was primarily a scavenger. The question of whether Tyrannosaurus was an apex predator or a pure scavenger was among the longest ongoing debates in paleontology.[10] It is accepted now that Tyrannosaurus rex acted as a predator, and scavenged as modern mammalian and avian predators do.
More than 50 specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex have been identified, some of which are nearly complete skeletons. Soft tissue and proteins have been reported in at least one of these specimens. The abundance of fossil material has allowed significant research into many aspects of its biology, including its life history and biomechanics. The feeding habits, physiology and potential speed of Tyrannosaurus rex are a few subjects of debate. Its taxonomy is also controversial, as some scientists consider Tarbosaurus bataar from Asia to be a second Tyrannosaurus species while others maintain Tarbosaurus is a separate genus. Several other genera of North American tyrannosaurids have also been synonymized with Tyrannosaurus.