Gorgosaurus
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Gorgosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 76.6–75.1 Ma |
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| Skeletal mount, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Tyrannosauroidea |
| Family: | †Tyrannosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Albertosaurinae |
| Genus: |
†Gorgosaurus Lambe, 1914 |
| Type species | |
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†Gorgosaurus libratus Lambe, 1914 |
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| Synonyms | |
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List
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Gorgosaurus (/ˌɡɔːrɡəˈsɔːrəs/ GOR-gə-SOR-əs; meaning "dreadful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, between about 76.6 and 75.1 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found in the Canadian province of Alberta and possibly the U.S. state of Montana. Paleontologists recognize only the type species, G. libratus, although other species have been erroneously referred to the genus.
Like most known tyrannosaurids, Gorgosaurus was a bipedal predator weighing more than two metric tons as an adult; dozens of large, sharp teeth lined its jaws, while its two-fingered forelimbs were comparatively small. Gorgosaurus was most closely related to Albertosaurus, and more distantly related to the larger Tyrannosaurus. Gorgosaurus and Albertosaurus are extremely similar, distinguished mainly by subtle differences in the teeth and skull bones. Some experts consider G. libratus to be a species of Albertosaurus; this would make Gorgosaurus a junior synonym of that genus.
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