Prehistoric life
The name Tyrannosaurus rex or 'tyrant lizard king' would have been equally appropriate for Daspletosaurus. This terrifying tyrannosaur preceded T-rex by ten million years, being top of the food chain in North America's vast flood plains 75 million years ago. A formidable predator, it was nine metres long and weighed as much as three tonnes.
Like the tyrannosaurs that were to follow, it relied on smell and hearing as much as sight. Bite marks in Daspletosaurus skulls suggest they fought each other over food, territory or dominance in a group. A remarkable discovery of a group of Daspletosaurus near some Hadrosaurs raised some interesting questions. Did these tyrannosaurs hunt in packs or come together to feast on the carcasses?
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Daspletosaurus
Although Daspletosaurus may have lived and hunted in gangs we can assume that these groups were far from harmonious.
Although Daspletosaurus may have lived and hunted in gangs we can assume that these groups were far from harmonious.
Hunting by smell
Daspletosaurus relied on its sense of smell and hearing to hunt prey.
Daspletosaurus relied on its sense of smell and hearing to hunt prey.
Effective killers
Tyrannosaurs had the most powerful bite of any dinosaur.
Tyrannosaurs had the most powerful bite of any dinosaur.
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Cretaceous periodDaspletosaurus (pron.: /dæsˌpliːtɵˈsɔrəs/ das-PLEET-o-SAWR-əs; meaning "frightful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America between 77 and 74 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. Fossils of the only named species (D. torosus) were found in Alberta, although other possible species from Alberta and Montana await description. Including these undescribed species makes Daspletosaurus the most species-rich genus of tyrannosaur.
Daspletosaurus is closely related to the much larger and more recent Tyrannosaurus. Like most known tyrannosaurids, it 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 rarer than other tyrannosaurids, the available specimens allow some analysis of the biology of these animals, including social behavior, diet, and life history.
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Carnivorous
Egg layer
Pack-hunter
Predator
Adapted to running