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sharp-clawed runner
Tyrannosaurus
Say it like this: “ti-RAN-o-SAWR-us”
Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1905 · Osborn, H. F.
- Hip height
- 3.8 m · 12 ft
- Length
- 11.9–13 m · 39–43 ft
- Weight
- 5.4–9.5 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Hell Creek
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Tyrannosaurinae
The story in short
In 1905, H. F. Osborn published the name Tyrannosaurus. The name means “tyrant lizard.”
Fossils referred to Tyrannosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Hell Creek Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Tyrannosaurus at a length near 11.9–13 m, hips about 3.8 m high, and a body mass around 5.4–9.5 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Tyrannosaurinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.