Tyrannosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species Tyrannosaurus rex, often shortened to T. rex or colloquially T-Rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It 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 latest Campanian-Maastrichtian ages of the late Cretaceous period, 72.7 to 66 million years ago. It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Tyrannosauridae is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies containing up to fifteen genera, including the eponymous Tyrannosaurus. The exact number of genera is controversial, with some experts recognizing as few as three. All of these animals lived near the end of the Cretaceous Period and their fossils have been found only in North America and Asia.
Tarbosaurus is a genus of large tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 70 million years ago. It contains the single type species: Tarbosaurus bataar, which is known from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia, with more fragmentary remains found further afield in the Subashi Formation of China. Tarbosaurus is represented by dozens of fossil specimens, including several complete skulls and skeletons. These remains have allowed studies focusing on its phylogeny, skull mechanics, and brain structure. Further fossil remains have been reported from other geologic formations of Asia, however, these remains are fragmentary and can not be confidentially assigned to Tarbosaurus or the type species.
Daspletosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 78 and 74.4 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus Daspletosaurus contains three named species. Fossils of the earlier type species, D. torosus, have been found in Alberta, while fossils of a later species, D. horneri, have been found only in Montana. D. wilsoni has been suggested as an intermediate species between D. torosus and D. horneri that evolved through anagenesis, but this theory has been disputed by other researchers.
Dilong is a genus of small basal tyrannosauroid dinosaurs. The only species in the genus is Dilong paradoxus, known from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of East Asia. The discovery of Dilong was significant as it provided the first evidence of feathers in tyrannosaurs, something which had previously been suspected for the group.
Aublysodon is a genus of carnivorous dinosaurs known only from the Judith River Formation in Montana, which has been dated to the late Campanian age of the late Cretaceous period. The only currently recognized species, Aublysodon mirandus, was named by paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1868. It is sometimes considered dubious now, because the type specimen consists only of an isolated premaxillary (front) tooth. Although this specimen is now lost, similar teeth have been found in many US states, western Canada, and Asia. These teeth almost certainly belong to juvenile tyrannosaurine tyrannosaurids, but most have not been identified to species level. However, it is likely that the type tooth belongs to one of the species in the genus Daspletosaurus, which was present in contemporary formations, and which matches specific details of the original tooth. The synapomorphies alleged to distinguish the Aublysodontinae, especially lack of serrations on premaxillary teeth could have been caused by tooth wear in life, postmortem abrasion, or digestion. Most other "aublysodontine"-type teeth may be from ontogenetic stages or sexual morphs of other tyrannosaurids.
Appalachiosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now eastern North America. It was a basal member of the Eutyrannosauria clade meaning it was rather close in relation to the true tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus. Like most theropods, it was a bipedal predator. Only a juvenile skeleton has been found, representing an animal approximately 6.5 metres (21 ft) long and weighing 623 kilograms (1,373 lb), which indicates an adult would have been significantly larger.
Alioramus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia. It currently contains two species. The type species, A. remotus is known from a partial skull and three foot bones recovered from the Mongolian Nemegt Formation, which was deposited in a humid floodplain about 70 million years ago. These remains were named and described by Soviet paleontologist Sergei Kurzanov in 1976. A second species, A. altai, known from a much more complete skeleton also from the Nemegt Formation, was named and described by Stephen L. Brusatte and colleagues in 2009. Its relationships to other tyrannosaurid genera were at first unclear, with some evidence supporting a hypothesis that Alioramus was closely related to the contemporary species Tarbosaurus bataar. However, the discovery of Qianzhousaurus indicates that it belongs to a distinct branch of tyrannosaurs, namely the tribe Alioramini.
Tyrannosauroidea is a superfamily of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent beginning in the Jurassic Period. By the end of the Cretaceous Period, tyrannosauroids were the dominant large predators in the Northern Hemisphere, culminating in the gigantic Tyrannosaurus. Fossils of tyrannosauroids have been recovered on what are now the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, with fragmentary remains possibly attributable to tyrannosaurs also known from South America and Australia.
Guanlong (冠龍) is a genus of extinct proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China. The taxon was first described in 2006 by Xu Xing et al., who found it to represent a new taxon related to Tyrannosaurus. The name is derived from Chinese, translating as "crown dragon". Two individuals are currently known, a partially complete adult and a nearly complete juvenile. These specimens come from the Oxfordian stage of the Chinese Shishugou Formation.
Tyrannosaurinae is one of the two extinct subfamilies of Tyrannosauridae, a family of coelurosaurian theropods that consists of at least three tribes and several genera. All fossils of these genera have been found in the Late Cretaceous deposits of western North America and east Asia. Compared to the related subfamily Albertosaurinae, tyrannosaurines overall are more robust and larger though the alioramins were gracile by comparison. This subfamily also includes Lythronax, one of the oldest known tyrannosaurid genera, as well as the youngest and most famous member of the group, Tyrannosaurus rex.
Xiongguanlong is an extinct genus of tyrannosauroid theropod from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now China. The type and only species is X. baimoensis. The generic name comes from Jiayuguan City and the Mandarin word "long" which means dragon. The specific epithet, "baimoensis" is a latinization of the Mandarin word for "white ghost" in reference to one of the geological features of the type locality.
Sinotyrannus was an early, large-bodied genus within the superfamily Tyrannosauroidea. This dinosaur had a single type species, S. kazuoensis, with the only known specimen containing a partial skull, some vertebrae, and a hip, all of which were found in the Early Cretaceous aged Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. While it exhibited greater body size that would put it on par with the later tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus, Sinotyrannus was probably a member of the basal tyrannosaur family known as the Proceratosauridae. This family originated in the Jurassic, whose members are known from Europe and Asia. Sinotyrannus, alongside another early tyrannosaur, Yutyrannus, appears to have been oddly large when compared to most tyrannosaurs of the Early Cretaceous, such as Dilong. Most of the world during the Early Cretaceous was dominated by more basal tetanurans, such as the megalosaurs and allosaurs, with tyrannosaurids themselves only taking over after both groups started to decline. However, Sinotyrannus and Yutyrannus appear to be exceptions to this. Sinotyrannus was the largest theropod in the Jiufotang Formation, reaching up to 10 meters in overall length and having a general mass similar to that of a large rhino.
Proceratosauridae is a family or clade of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Bistahieversor, also known as the "Bisti Beast", is a genus of basal eutyrannosaurian theropod dinosaur. The genus contains only a single known species, B. sealeyi, described in 2010, from the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. The holotype and a juvenile were found in the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation, while other specimens came from the underlying Fossil Forest member of the Fruitland Formation. This dates Bistahieversor approximately 75.5 to 74.5 million years ago during the Campanian age, found in sediments spanning a million years.
Lythronax is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America around 81.9-81.5 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The only known specimen was discovered in Utah in the Wahweap Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in 2009, and it consists of a partial skull and skeleton. In 2013, it became the basis of the new genus and species Lythronax argestes; the generic name Lythronax means "gore king", and the specific name argestes originates from the Greek poet Homer's name for the wind from the southwest, in reference to the specimen's geographic provenance in North America.
Qianzhousaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period. There is currently only one species named, the type species Qianzhousaurus sinensis, which is a member of the tribe Alioramini and most closely related to Alioramus, the only other known alioramin.
This timeline of tyrannosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the tyrannosaurs, a group of predatory theropod dinosaurs that began as small, long-armed bird-like creatures with elaborate cranial ornamentation but achieved apex predator status during the Late Cretaceous as their arms shrank and body size expanded. Although formally trained scientists did not begin to study tyrannosaur fossils until the mid-19th century, these remains may have been discovered by Native Americans and interpreted through a mythological lens. The Montana Crow tradition about thunder birds with two claws on their feet may have been inspired by isolated tyrannosaurid forelimbs found locally. Other legends possibly inspired by tyrannosaur remains include Cheyenne stories about a mythical creature called the Ahke, and Delaware stories about smoking the bones of ancient monsters to have wishes granted.
Timurlengia is an extinct genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur found in Uzbekistan, in the Bissekty Formation in the Kyzylkum Desert, hailing from the Turonian age of the early Late Cretaceous. The type species is Timurlengia euotica.
Asiatyrannus is an extinct genus of tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, A. xui, known from a single specimen consisting of a skull and partial postcranial skeleton. Asiatyrannus is notable for its deep-snouted skull and small body size, in contrast to the gracile snout and larger size of the contemporary Qianzhousaurus. It represents the southernmost record of an Asian tyrannosaurid.
