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Concept
Daspletosaurus
Summary
Daspletosaurus (dæsˌpliːtəˈsɔːrəs ; meaning "frightful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 77 and 75 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus Daspletosaurus contains three species. Fossils of the earlier type species, D. torosus, have been found in Alberta, and fossils of a later second species, D. wilsoni, and third species, D. horneri, have been found only in Montana. A possible fourth species, also from Alberta, awaits formal identification. The taxon Thanatotheristes has been suggested to represent a species of Daspletosaurus, D. degrootorum, but this has not been widely supported. Daspletosaurus is closely related to the much larger and more recent tyrannosaurid Tyrannosaurus rex. Like most tyrannosaurids, Daspletosaurus was a multi-tonne bipedal predator equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. Daspletosaurus had the small forelimbs typical of tyrannosaurids, although they were proportionately longer than in other genera.
As an apex predator, Daspletosaurus was at the top of the food chain, probably preying on large dinosaurs like the ceratopsid Centrosaurus and the hadrosaur Hypacrosaurus. In some areas, Daspletosaurus coexisted with another tyrannosaurid, Gorgosaurus, though there is some evidence of niche differentiation between the two. While Daspletosaurus fossils are not as common as other tyrannosaurid fossils, the available specimens allow some analysis of the biology of these animals, including social behavior, diet, and life history.
The type specimen of Daspletosaurus torosus (CMN 8506) is a partial skeleton including the skull, the shoulder, a forelimb, the pelvis, a femur, and all of the vertebrae from the neck, torso, and hip, as well as the first eleven tail vertebrae. It was discovered in 1921 near Steveville, Alberta, by Charles Mortram Sternberg, who thought it was a new species of Gorgosaurus.
Official source
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