Tyrannosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex, often called 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 Maastrichtian age of the Upper Cretaceous period, 68 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 thirteen 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 Formation of Mongolia, with more fragmentary remains found further afield in the Subashi Formation of China.
Dilong is a genus of basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur. The only species in this genus is Dilong paradoxus. It is from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation near Lujiatun, Beipiao, in the western Liaoning province of China. It lived about 126 million years ago. This theropod discovery was significant as it was one of the first tyrannosauroids with fossil evidence of simple feathers.
Appalachiosaurus is a genus of basal eutyrannosaurian theropod dinosaur from the middle Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period of what is now eastern North America. 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. It is the most completely known theropod from eastern North America.
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.
Eotyrannus is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation beds, included in Wealden Group, located in the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The remains (MIWG1997.550), consisting of assorted skull, axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton elements, from a juvenile or subadult, found in a plant debris clay bed, were described by Hutt et al. in early 2001. The etymology of the generic name refers to the animal's classification as an early tyrannosaur or "tyrant lizard", while the specific name honors the discoverer of the fossil.
Stokesosaurus is a genus of small, carnivorous early tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period of Utah, United States.
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.
Dryptosaurus is a genus of basal eotyrannosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived on the island continent of Appalachia approximately 67 million years ago during the end of the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period. Dryptosaurus was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore that could grow up to 7.5 metres (25 ft) long and weigh up to 1.5 metric tons. Although it is now largely unknown outside of academic circles, the famous 1897 painting of the genus by Charles R. Knight made Dryptosaurus one of the more widely known dinosaurs of its time, in spite of its poor fossil record. First described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1866 and later renamed by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, Dryptosaurus is among the very first theropod dinosaurs ever known to science.
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 the oldest known tyrannosaurid genus Lythronax as well as the youngest and most famous member of the group, Tyrannosaurus rex. There were at least 30 different species of tyrannosaurines.
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.
Megaraptora is a clade of carnivorous tetanuran theropod dinosaurs with controversial relations to other theropods. Its derived members, the Megaraptoridae are noted for their large hand claws and robust forelimbs, which are usually reduced in size in other large theropods.
Proceratosauridae is a family or clade of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Juratyrant is a tyrannosauroid dinosaur genus from the late Jurassic period of England. The genus contains a single species, Juratyrant langhami, which was once classed as a species of Stokesosaurus.
Yutyrannus is a genus of proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid dinosaur which contains a single known species, Yutyrannus huali. This species lived during the early Cretaceous period in what is now northeastern China. Three fossils of Yutyrannus huali —all found in the rock beds of Liaoning Province— are currently the largest-known carnivorous dinosaur specimens that preserve direct evidence of feathers.
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.
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.
