| Common name | Victoria |
|---|---|
| Species | Tyrannosaurus rex |
| Age | about 67 million years |
| Place discovered | Faith, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Date discovered | 2013 |
Victoria is a specimen of the species Tyrannosaurus rex recognized for its well-preserved and nearly complete skeleton, making it the second most complete T. rex finds in recent history. Victoria got her name in the lab in Victoria, British Columbia, where it was studied and restored.
Victoria was unearthed outside Faith, South Dakota, in 2013 in over eight months by researchers. [1] [2]
Victoria is estimated at the age of around 18-25 at the time of her death 65 million years ago. Her skeleton includes approximately 199 bones and nearly complete skull, accounting for about 65% of the total skeleton, making her the second most complete T. rex skeleton discovered to date (behind “Sue” for completeness). Victoria stands as one of the largest T.rex’s mounted in the world at 40 feet in length and was estimated to be approximately 10.5 tons or 21,000 lbs. at death. [1] [2]
Heinrich Mallison, Victoria’s lead paleontologist and researcher at the Center of Natural History, Hamburg University said, “The discovery of Victoria has provided the paleontological community with a tremendous amount of new information. The various insights gleaned from her unique and groundbreaking pathologies will be the subject of research for years to come” and “From a bite on her jaw that led to an unusually widespread infection to an absorbed tooth in the maxilla, it is clear she overcame many rivalries and injuries in the struggle to survive as an apex predator.” [1]
Some of the notable pathologies include: [1]
Victoria has exhibited since 2019 at the Houston Science Center, the Arizona Science Center, [3] and a stand-alone exhibition in Korea. [4] [5] Melbourne Museum will unveil Victoria on June 28th 2024. [6] Visitors to the exhibit will be able to see her complete skeleton, see simulations of her as a predator, protector and mother and will also hear what she might have sounded like. [1]
Allosaurus is an extinct genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period. The name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard", alluding to its unique concave vertebrae. It is derived from the Greek words ἄλλος and σαῦρος. The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by famed paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs, it has long attracted attention outside of paleontological circles.
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 tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia about 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian age at the end of the Late Cretaceous period, considered to contain a single known species: Tarbosaurus bataar. Fossils have been recovered from the Nemegt and Djadochta Formations of Mongolia, with more fragmentary remains found further afield in China.
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.
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek θηρίο-ποδός [θηρίον, "wild beast"; πούς, ποδός "foot"] whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally carnivorous, although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores and omnivores. Theropods first appeared during the Carnian age of the late Triassic period 231.4 million years ago and included the majority of large terrestrial carnivores from the Early Jurassic until at least the close of the Cretaceous, about 66 Ma. In the Jurassic, birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods, and are today represented by about 11,000 living species.
Spinosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 100 to 94 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species, S. maroccanus, has been recovered from Morocco. The contemporary spinosaurid genus Sigilmassasaurus has also been synonymized by some authors with S. aegyptiacus, though other researchers propose it to be a distinct taxon. Another possible junior synonym is Oxalaia from the Alcântara Formation in Brazil.
Giganotosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 99.6 to 95 million years ago. The holotype specimen was discovered in the Candeleros Formation of Patagonia in 1993 and is almost 70% complete. The animal was named Giganotosaurus carolinii in 1995; the genus name translates to "giant southern lizard", and the specific name honors the discoverer, Ruben Carolini. A dentary bone, a tooth, and some tracks, discovered before the holotype, were later assigned to this animal. The genus attracted much interest and became part of a scientific debate about the maximum sizes of theropod dinosaurs.
Gorgosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period (Campanian), between about 76.5 and 75 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found in the Canadian province of Alberta and the U.S. state of Montana. Paleontologists recognize only the type species, G. libratus, although other species have been erroneously referred to the genus.
Carcharodontosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa from about 100 to 94 million years ago during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous. Two teeth of the genus, now lost, were first described from Algeria by French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin as Megalosaurus saharicus. A partial skeleton was collected by crews of German paleontologist Ernst Stromer during a 1914 expedition to Egypt. Stromer did not report the Egyptian find until 1931, in which he dubbed the novel genus Carcharodontosaurus, making the type species C. saharicus. Unfortunately, this skeleton was destroyed during the Second World War. In 1995 a nearly complete skull of C. saharicus, the first well-preserved specimen to be found in almost a century, was discovered in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco; it was designated the neotype in 1996. Fossils unearthed from the Echkar Formation of northern Niger were described and named as another species, C. iguidensis, in 2007.
Neovenator is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur. It is known from several skeletons found in the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Barremian) Wessex Formation on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, southern England. It is one of the best known theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of Europe.
Majungasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, making it one of the last-known non-avian dinosaurs that went extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The genus contains a single species, Majungasaurus crenatissimus. This dinosaur is also called Majungatholus, a name which is considered a junior synonym of Majungasaurus.
Sue is the nickname given to FMNH PR 2081, which is one of the largest, most extensive, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever found, at over 90 percent recovered by bulk. FMNH PR 2081 was discovered on August 12, 1990, by American explorer and fossil collector Sue Hendrickson, and was named after her.
"Stan", also known by its inventory number BHI 3033, is a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found in the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota, just outside of Buffalo in 1987, and excavated in 1992. It is the fifth most complete T. rex fossil discovered to date, at more than 70% bulk. In October 2020, the fossil was sold for $31.8 million at auction, making it the most expensive dinosaur specimen and fossil ever sold. In March 2022, Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism stated that they had acquired Stan and were planning on displaying the fossil at a new museum of natural history scheduled to open in 2025.
Tyrannosaurus is one of the most iconic dinosaurs and is known from numerous specimens, some of which have individually acquired notability due to their scientific significance and media coverage.
Theropod paleopathology is the study of injury and disease in theropod dinosaurs. In 2001, Ralph E. Molnar published a survey of pathologies in theropod dinosaur bone that uncovered pathological features in 21 genera from 10 theropod families. Pathologies have been seen on most theropod body parts, with the most common sites of preserved injury and disease being the ribs and tail vertebrae. The least common sites of preserved pathology are the weight-bearing bones like the tibia, femur and sacrum. Most pathologies preserved in theropod fossils are the remains of injuries, but infections and congenital deformities have also been documented. Pathologies are less frequently documented in small theropods, although this may simply be because the larger bones of correspondingly larger animals would be more likely to fossilize in the first place.
The feeding behaviour of Tyrannosaurus rex has been studied extensively. The well known attributes of T. rex are often interpreted to be indicative of either a predatory or scavenging lifestyle, and as such the biomechanics, feeding strategies and diet of Tyrannosaurus have been subject to much research and debate.
Dracoraptor is a genus of coelophysoid dinosaur that lived during the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic Period of what is now Wales dated at 201.3 ± 0.2 million years old.
Trix is a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen excavated in 2013 in Montana, United States by a team of paleontologists from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands and Black Hills institute of Geological Research in South Dakota. This Tyrannosaurus, over thirty years old – the oldest known Tyrannosaurus specimen – lived about 67 million years ago. It is considered to be the third most complete Tyrannosaurus found, with between 78% and 80% of its bone volume recovered. The specimen was named Trix after the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. It is one of only two Tyrannosaurus specimens on permanent exhibit in mainland Europe. The other one is a specimen named Tristan on exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Berlin.
Thalassotitan is an extinct genus of large mosasaurs that lived during the late Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous period in what is now Morocco, around 66 million years ago. The only known species is T. atrox, described in 2022 from fossils discovered in the Ouled Abdoun Basin, where many other mosasaurs have been found. It was assigned to the tribe Prognathodontini alongside other mosasaurs like Prognathodon and Gnathomortis. The prognathodontines are separated from other mosasaurs based on their massive jaws and robust teeth.
