The Tyrannosaur Chronicles competition: the contenders

Like undergraduate students everywhere, you lot submitted a flurry of entries for our Tyrannosaur Chronicles competition right before the deadline. But no matter! You still got in. While the final six winners will ultimately be decided by us, I thought (as with previous competitions) it'd be fun to put up a gallery of all the entrants and gather some of your opinions before we dole out the books. So, in no particular order, here's a gallery of T. rex...TRIUMPHING!

The Tyrannosaur Chronicles book launch

Friday the 22^nd April saw the official launch of Dr. David Hone’s first book, The Tyrannosaur Chronicles (Bloomsbury Sigma), at Queen Mary University London, in the rather lovely book-lined Octagon of Queen’s Building -- which, if the British Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery should fail to become my library, would serve pretty well in its stead. Dr. Dave has written about the book’s publication on his blog, and it has already gained a deservedly positive reception, not least among which is Tom Holland’s glowing review on New Statesman. And we at Love in the time of Chasmosaurs are very much hoping to post one or two of our own in due course.

 
After an introduction by Dr. Steve Le Comber, Dr. Dave read two short extracts from the book. The first, on a method of prey despatch, was especially illuminating and memorable for me simply because the conjecture never once occurred to me, but which once posited made such elegant sense: 

‘The huge caudofemoralis muscles ran from the femur and up most of the first third of the tail in all dinosaurs. The tail gave a huge amount of power to the legs for running, was full of major blood vessels and was not surrounded by bone. A heavy bite anywhere around the thigh or first part of the tail might well have crippled an animal, leaving it unable to run and bleeding badly. Also, the tail was one of the first things a pursuing hunter would encounter in a fleeing animal, so using this technique would have reduced the chase distance, which would have been important especially if the prey animal was fundamentally faster than the tyrannosaur. Notably, there are two fossil hadrosaurs showing injury to the tails from tyrannosaur bites, and another with a wound to the leg; it’s a very limited data set, but it does nonetheless point to this as a strategy.’

 After the readings, the audience was treated to a live link-up via Skype with the book’s illustrator, Scott Hartman, whose trusted, accurate skeletals I’m sure require no introduction here. Dr. Dave prefaced this by pointing out the precision of Scott’s working methods, and recounting how, during the course of writing the book, when Dave was asked whether he had a second choice in mind in the event that Scott couldn’t be procured, his answer was a quite decisive ‘well, no.’

The last of the formalities was the purchasing and signing of copies of the book (all which were brought to the launch sold out), whilst guests also had time to ogle at, photograph, and even handle the various casts that were on display.

Dave points out that the manus here belongs to Albertosaurus rather than T. rex

It was a great pity that Marc couldn’t make it this time, or without question there would have been some choice goofy pictures with the fantastic skull, and you would have had a superior post than this besides (in more ways than one). Never mind. I did at any rate get a picture of another star who also happened to be there.

Luis Rey!

The evening itself was rounded off with the hosts and guests all trooping off to a nearby pub for a celebratory drink. Marc was more than especially missed at this point. On that note, he and I have been chatting over a little competition which we’re hoping to launch very shortly, with copies of this very book as prizes, hurrah! Watch this space, as they say.

    

The Cretaceous Tortoise and Hare

Once upon a time, in the autumn of 2011, I submitted an artwork requested by one Scott Persons of the University of Alberta via Art Evolved...

Three years later, the resulting set of three illustrations -- a race between an Olorotitan and a Tarbosaurus -- was finally published in the press release for a study of hadrosaur locomotion by Dr. Phil Currie and Scott Persons, which I expect a number of our readers are already familiar with, either independently or via the Chasmosaurs Facebook page. There is also a podcast about the research. Here, for your delectation and privilege (or indeed indifference and ennui, so please you) are the illustrations at a much larger size, which can be opened out in a new tab/window for full-view if you wish. Much of the comic expression in the dinosaurs' eyes are missed in reduction -- something which I hadn't accounted for when I drew them.

The Aesop analogy subsequently repeated in the article was one which had actually occurred to Scott as a result of my original submission, as quoted in my linked Himmapaanensis post above: '...this is a charming twist (and one I had not anticipated). I like it very much!' I readily confess that my simple little ego was considerably flattered by this.

There is also a story behind the flag-waving Protoceratops, who was originally accompanied by a much more incongruous figure (again, for the sake of this post's conciseness, please see the first link for this). I don't know, you'd think I had a penchant for such a thing...

Prints of the illustrations were donated to the silent auction at the Alberta Dinosaur Research Institute fundraising dinner this past weekend. Sean Willett of the Dragon Tongues podcast (whom Marc and I had the great pleasure of meeting and speaking to at the first TetZooCon, and for whom David recently completed a new logo) had very kindly placed a bid on them. He informs me that the prints finally sold for over $100.

Photograph by Sean Willett

Of course, given that it has been three years since their creation, there are several things I would do differently now. So consider this the appropriate disclaimer/apology for any obvious shortcomings. I do know, however, that I would relish more such opportunities for playful pictures accompanying serious research in formal publications. Can we make this A Thing, please?

Artist Interview: Alexander Lovegrove

There are a huge number of palaeoartists clamouring for attention on deviantArt these days, so it requires a unique take on affairs to truly stand out - especially with Yet Another Tyrannosaurus. Alexander Lovegrove (an ecology PhD student from the UK) first caught my attention with the piece pictured above - a depiction of that very dinosaur in a rainforest setting It might be a little fanciful, but the highly individual style and meticulous detailing make it stand out from the pack. In fact, I immediately thought of Henri Rousseau's jungle scenes, even if Alexander's style and professed influences are somewhat different. The potentially bland and conventional lateral view of the creature is subverted by having the animal's off-centre head facing the viewer, its piercing, predatory gaze proving irresistible to the eye.

Ever since then, it's been fascinating to see what Alexander (right) will produce next, and there have been a steady stream of new pieces on his deviantArt page. He may make some mistakes along the way (who doesn't?), but his bold technique and speculative touches, coupled with his funneling of his ecological interests into his art, have definitely made him a palaeoartist worth keeping an eye on. I wanted to know a little more about what goes into his art, as well as just plain show it off - and wouldn't you know, some fool gave me a platform to do so. Hurrah! Anyway, on with the interview...

Zhuchengtyrannus (left) and Tarbosaurus (right). This piece actually consists of two paintings combined.

How long have you been interested in dinosaurs? Was it something that stemmed from your interests in natural history and ecology more broadly, or did it develop alongside?

I've been interested in dinosaurs as long as I can remember, and just haven't grown out of it. I've also always been interested in the natural world (I am currently an ecology PhD student), so I guess that is part of it too. As I've grown older I have come to appreciate the connections between the world of dinosaurs and modern ecosystems. It's amazing to think that there were whole ecosystems, habitats and biomes that are lost in time.

You mention that 'lots of palaeoartists' have influenced you, but everyone has their favourites - which are yours? (I'm going to guess Doug Henderson is up there.)

Yeah, Doug Henderson is definitely up there! Above all he is a wonderful artist. I think Doug Henderson's work stands out a great deal now due to his mastery of painting natural environments and his skill at composition. I would love to emulate those ideas, but I am just an amateur really. The first paleoart I really started to recognise and enjoy was Greg Paul's, like many other artists of my generation. However, it wasn't his skeletal or pencil illustrations that really captured my imagination but a series of watercolours which I think appeared in the Dinosaurs magazine series when I was a kid. It always seemed like colour was important to me when depicting dinosaurs, they needed to be vibrant! Other big inspirations and influences were Michael Skrepnick and Mark Hallett, whose work I really admire. And then more recently there are so many others - simply too numerous to list! I am also a great admirer of the ultra-realism of John Gurche, although he hasn't depicted that many dinosaurs.

They are not palaeoartists, but John Howe and Alan Lee were really big early influences - I started out painting Tolkein-y things!

'Winter Kill'

You seem to end up painting tyrannosaurs a lot (not that I'm complaining). Do you have a particular affinity for those animals, or is it pure happenstance?

Yeah, I really do like tyrannosaurs a lot more than other dinosaurs - my favourite of all being Albertosaurus. Something about them really fascinates me, in particular their ancestry and relationship to the bird lineage (although I've ended up painting the most derived examples). Their shape seems very elegant to me too, and there's been an explosion of diversity recently that I think I want to capture in my paintings. Although funnily enough some of the paintings were happenstance and I didn't mean to paint them so much. I am trying to broaden my range now though!

From the way your work has evolved over the past few years, I would guess that you've been doing your homework in terms of dinosaur anatomy (none of your theropods have the dreaded 'bunny hands' these days). What have you been reading, and how helpful have you found the community feedback on deviantArt?

Ah yes, anatomy. I still consider this a weak point really, especially concerning muscles and outer integument. I don't measure out proportions and my painting style is quite loose ( I sometimes obscure the underlying sketch and have to hastily paint from scratch!). I must pay much greater attention in future though, as the subject simply demands it. You wouldn't expect a decent painting of a lion or tiger to have flaws in proportion or anatomy, and if they did it would really stand out.

Much of my knowledge has come from various blogs really, but I would single out Tet Zoo, Skeletal Drawing and Theropoda (Google translated) as being particularly useful (I would add SVPOW if I ever depicted enough sauropods). I wish I had more time to learn and properly appreciate the anatomical side of things - in particular when painting a dinosaur that I haven't attempted before. It can be difficult to research effectively, especially as museum mounts are not always accurate. I do try to get scientific papers, but these are often very difficult to access. I like to avoid lateral views where possible (although my work is still full of them) so skeletal diagrams can be difficult to interpret. Another thing that I have been trying to pay attention to is to depict the environment the dinosaurs live in more accurately, but this can be even harder to find information on, other than for a few well-known localities.

deviantArt has been particularly helpful though, with not only feedback but a network of artists to talk to, compare work and learn from. I have found the comments and general encouragement really great, in fact it's probably what kept me painting a few times. I would say though that deviantArt is heavily biased towards younger people. I haven't really opened up to the critique process much on there, mainly because I like to critique my own paintings so much - I can always improve. I may try that in the future though.

There's a lot of healthy speculation in your work, which is wonderful to see. In particular, I'd like you to go into more detail about the development of your 'Daspletosaurus attacks' painting [above]. The ceratopsians are fairly conventional looking, but the Daspletosaurus certainly isn't, which is why it's one of my favourites! What was your inspiration behind portraying the animal's integument in such an unconventional way (with particular reference to the 'plucked' leg)?

Andrea Cau's blog, Theropoda, was a big catalyst for that painting. There was a particularly great post where he explained how it probably was physiologically possible for large theropods to be feathered without overheating. So I went ahead with that idea. It was quite funny that Yutyrannus was found shortly afterwards - I really thought I'd overdone it in the painting! The legs are really a silly idea to be honest. I wanted to make it look like a giant chicken - I've always thought chickens looked like dinosaurs - and explored the possibility of feathers being lost and leaving naked skin. So it just looks like a plucked chicken leg...I think this is pretty unlikely as the bumps on a plucked leg are related to feathers anyway as far as I know! I left an open nostril to also evoke its bird like nature, like a vulture or condor, but I understand this is incorrect. Also the face is heavily scarred and has a layer of tough, keratinous skin around the mouth (a proto-beak if you will) which seemed interesting. I was much more conservative with Chasmosaurus as I know both less about them and felt a little outside my comfort zone just plopping filaments on them - maybe next time!

So much palaeoart now is digital that your 'traditional' acrylic paintings are actually quite refreshing. Would you ever consider 'going digital' even for just one piece of work? (Obligatory question.)

Yes, in fact I have tried it in the past. However I find it difficult to get used to and a lot of the connection with the work is lost for me by using a screen. I'm also just not as good at it! I would like to say though that I really love a lot of the digital art that is being produced by other artists.

Bactrosaurus johnsoni

 How would you say your palaeoart has developed from a purely artistic perspective in recent years - have you consciously aimed for a definitive style, one that incorporates elements of certain artistic movements? Many of your pieces, and I'm thinking especially of the Rainforest Tyrannosaur, have a 'feel' that is completely unique in palaeoart.

This is a really interesting question to me! I strive to improve with every painting that I do, artistically and scientifically. I don't think I have aimed for a particular style, and certainly not consciously if I have done so. My earliest work was just having a go at painting dinosaurs really, which I think quickly developed because I love adding detail to the paintings - the more the better! In particular the 'Rainforest Tyrannosaur' has a lot of that obsession with detail, trying to put in as much as I could to the painting.

That was partially inspired by a visit to rainforest (in Ecuador) as part of my university studies, which made me want to depict the wonder of being in a special, unusual place. In fact, that trip was probably the main reason I've been painting dinosaurs - it felt like I was in a prehistoric environment (even though modern tropical rainforests are more recent than dinosaurs) and became very inspired. I certainly didn't take painting dinosaurs and wildlife seriously before 2007 or so. I would say I'm trying to aim for more realistic painting where possible but my lack of expertise with the medium has resulted in a more stylised appearance than I would like.

I would also like to mention James Gurney's blog, Gurney Journey, which is really fascinating for me as an artist. The way he links art and science together when describing artistic techniques is really great, and I try to learn as much as I can from that. I am also a big fan of Renaissance and Romantic art periods as these works have a great deal of atmosphere while coming from a realist background, which must have influenced my work in some way.

Emus!

Finally, how do you think that palaeoart should continue to evolve?

A difficult question - I think in as many directions as possible! Obviously a greater regard for scientific accuracy, which seems to be happening, is great to see. The recent trends in more speculative reconstructions are really good as well, as we are able to acknowledge that we can't be 100% certain about the appearance of prehistoric animals anyway. An increase in variety is wonderful too, in subject and in style, although again this actually seems to be happening.

The key thing I think, regardless of art style, is that it's ultimately about reconstructing animals and ecosystems, not depicting monstrous creatures. And finally, so many people are producing art now that lots of previously obscure subjects are getting their due - although obviously I am not helping by painting tyrannosaurs all the time! 

*****

I'd like to thank Alexander for his time - and remember, you can see larger versions of many of the above, plus an awful lot more besides (including beautiful extant animals and environments), on his deviantArt page. Also, all art is © Alexander Lovegrove and is used with permission - don't go stealing it now, especially not for any dodgy exhibits. We'll find out, you know - our spies lurk behind strategically altered giant-format 1980s dinosaur books on park benches all over the world.

I don't think Alexander should worry about his art being stylised - it's a strength, not a weakness. But have you got something you're itching to say about Alexander's work, and/or what he had to say? Either scream it at bewildered passers by the next time you leave the house, or drop us a comment below.

Bow to Yutyrannus, your great feathered overlord

Yutyrannus huali, illustrated by Brian Choo.

In what is undoubtedly the dinosaur news of the year, we finally have a giant theropod sporting unmistakable feathers. Described in Nature, Yutyrannus - so new Google tries to correct it to Eotyrannus - hails from Early Cretaceous China, and destroys Beipiaosaurus's claim as the largest feathered dinosaur. It's going to take a massive story to top this one this year. Which, naturally, I hope happens.

This is a paleontological jackpot already, but add to it the fact that there are three individuals and they are quite complete and the importance of this discovery is greatly magnified. "Multiple specimens are always great and animals this size being preserved at all are quite rare in the Jehol, so it’s pretty impressive we have three of them," writes Dave Hone.

Creating an image that's sure to inspire paleoartists everywhere, Ed Yong relates an hypothesis on the use of Yutyrannus's feathers from paleontologist and lead author Xu Xing:

Xu speculates that Yutyrannus’s feathers might have been a winter coat. While most giant tyrannosaurs enjoyed warm climates during the late Cretaceous, Yutyrannus lived at a time when the average yearly temperature was a nippy 10 degrees Celsius. Maybe it was the tyrannosaur equivalent of woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos, whose shaggy coats protected them during the Ice Age. “The idea of woolly tyrannosaurs stalking colder climates in the Cretaceous is kinda mind-blowing,” says Witmer.

This is that rarest of stories in which it's actually appropriate to invoke the name of T. rex in a headline, as now we have much better evidence that the giant tyrants at the end of the Cretaceous could very well have worn plumage of their own. This will further alienate those who can't stand the thought of the scales of their favorite Mesozoic monsters giving way to feathers, but as someone who has devoted a lot of time over the last six months to studying feathers, I'd encourage you to look at it this way: feathers are by far the most amazing integumentary structure ever evolved. There's no comparison. The tyrant lizards deserved nothing less.

Now excuse me as I go lose myself in Mesozoic reverie. Endorphins, take me away...

More on my new favorite dinosaur:
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Theropoda
Tetrapod Zoology
Archosaur Musings
Nature News
Not Exactly Rocket Science
Carl Zimmer
Why Evolution is True
Wired
NeuroLogica
Brett Booth
The Independent
Telegraph
LiveScience by way of HuffPo
MSNBC

The 'Montana Dueling Dinosaurs'

There's no way anyone who reads this blog hasn't heard about this yet. But just in case...here's a very interesting interview with Peter Larson who describes this find as - without undue hyperbole - "one of the most exciting dinosaur discoveries that's ever been made".



While you're at it, be sure to check out some of the other recently-uploaded videos from the Black Hills Insititute, featuring (among others) Bob Bakker and "Dino-Cowboy" (cringe) Clayton Phipps.

Update: Brian Switek (for it is he) has authored a blog post calling into question some of the more senstational claims made by Larson and the others. Go forth and read!

Video Roundup

I've come across some pretty sweet dinosaur videos at the ol' Youtube website, so it's high time to share some of them here.

Some Japanese dinosaur robots. Sounds like the Parasaurolophus has a bit of a cold.


Triceratops: the Mesozoic's answer to Nate Dogg.


Um, I think this is a musical tribute to Mononykus olecranus, the alvarezsaur. I'd love to see a Fantasia-style animated dinosaur movie, and this would be perfect for a segment on the alvarezsaurs. You can just imagine the little buggers darting about to this.



Tip o' the hat to James Gurney for sharing this video over at Gurney Journey. Looks like a demo of some of the Walking with Dinosaurs live show dinosaur suits, featuring a tyrannosaur and a Utahraptor. Too cool not to post!

It's official: T. rex to be renamed

It's been looming in the background for some time, unbeknownst to the great unwashed masses. It's been an open secret among paleontologists and science enthusiasts, a dirty truth none would dare speak in public. That most famous of dinosaurs, a veritable symbol of nature's majesty and the wonders of the ancient world, was given the wrong name.

Tyrannosaurus rex is no more. Get used to saying Pseudodichotomasaurus inanis.

Just kidding. But it would be a fitting name for the tyrant king, with silly passages like this popping up in the media:

Tooth marks found on the humerus of a plant-eating dinosaur found in Mongolia have revealed that Tyrannosaurs were actually scavengers and not predators, as is widely believed [emphasis mine].

Ugh, DNA India. Is this the only way to lead this story? Are stark black-and-white dichotomies the only way to make nature interesting? Another meme that will not die. It makes you wonder if griping on blogs may not be the best way to affect change in the world.

Anyway, this is actually a cool story. It doesn't deal with T. rex itself, but with its fellow pseudodichotomasaur from Asia, Tarbosaurus. Paleontologists Dave Hone and Mahito Watabe recently published a study in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica which analyzed bite marks on the humerus of a remarkably well preserved skeleton of a hadrosaur called Saurolophus. Based on the spacing of the teeth and the strength of some of the bites, it was clear that Tarbosaurus, was the most likely suspect, as it was the only large tyrannosaur known from the area and time. This is one of those rare fossils that has a a story to tell beyond the structure of the animal itself.

Based on the lack of damage to the rest of the skeleton, the scientists determined that what had probably happened was that the Saurolophus was quickly buried after death, and when our fortunate Tarbosaurus happened across the carcass, all that was accessible was the left arm. The distinct patterns of tooth marks indicate that the Tarbosaurus bit into the ends of the bone, as well as delicately scraping at whatever meat was left on the middle portion. This clearly indicates scavenging behavior, as this is hardly the choicest cut on the animal, and had it been a fresh kill, the legs, ribs, and other spots containing nice hunks of meat would certainly show evidence of predation.


Feeding strategy one: scraping. By Matt Van Rooijen, used with his permission.


Feeding strategy two: biting and dragging. By Matt Van Rooijen, used with his permission.

Especially interesting here is that a large tyrannosaur like Tarbosaurus was quite capable of delivering a bite that could crush bone, and tyrannosaurs have been found with substantial amounts of crushed bone in their guts. This Tarbosaurus, however, shows that the teeth of the front of the jaw could be used with some finesse, as a kind of comb to remove muscle from flat surfaces of bone. Combined with the deeper bites and drag marks at the bone's ends - which Hone and Watabe believe may have been used to remove cartilage or dissemble the bones at the joints - the overall picture is of a giant theropod with a surgeon's touch. Then as now, predators employ various methods to get the sustenance they need in varying conditions.

"The argument over ‘was Tyrannosaurus (or big tyrannosaurs) a predator or scavenger’ has been going on for far too long and is, I think, not only dull, but largely pointless. It rather assumes that they were one or the other, when pretty much no carnivore is, what they are, is both," Hone writes, setting things straight as usual at Archosaur Musings.

More: Matt Van Rooijen's post about his Tarbosaurus reconstructions, LiveScience.

UPDATE 7-14-10: Fixed some of the wording of the opening based on a comment left by Jay below. I love me some constructive criticism!

Bonjour, Bistahieversor

The badlands of the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness, by flickr user westernskies_de_2. More shots of the region here.

Multiple choice time. The "Bistahi destroyer" is:

A) A Pokémon
B) A guitar particularly well-suited to shredding of the most brutal kind. Crafted of polished obsidian.
C) The brand new tyrannosaur from New Mexico
D) All of the above

In a perfect world, the answer would be D. But this is a dinosaur blog, holmes. So C it must be. Paleontologists Thomas Carr and Tom Williamson, of Carthage College and the University of New Mexico, respectively, have published an introductory description of Bistahieversor sealeyi, a mid-size Late Cretaceous tyrannosaur from New Mexico. It appears in the latest Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Bistahieversor sealeyi is the first new species of tyrannosaur discovered in the western US in thirty years, and the first top predator paleontologists have definitively identified in this region. There have been other bits and bobs identifiable as tyrannosaur pieces found in the area, but the two specimens of B. sealeyi, a juvenile and an adult, are the first well-preserved skeletons. In a great interview with ReBecca Hunt-Foster at Dinochick, Dr. Carr promises a longer monograph on Bistahieversor later this year, and says that he's working on projects dealing with both Daspletosaurus and T. rex. It looks like the tyrannosaur news isn't going to let up just because we've passed the arbitrary temporal boundary called "New Year's Day."

Also, it would behoove you to check out the beautiful illustration of Bistahieversor at the Hairy Museum of Natural History.

I can't pass up mentioning this little gem. It's the very first sentence of the B. sealeyi press release put out by the SVP: "New Mexico is known for amazing local cuisine, Aztec ruins and the Los Alamos National Laboratory."

Aztec ruins in New Mexico? Really, SVP? You really want to stand by that?

Dino Donner Party

When will this avalanche of tyrannosaur news stop? I'm not burnt out yet, but it would be nice to read some crazy hypsilophodon news. A new study from the University of Alberta, authored by PhD candidate Philip Bell and paleontologist Philip J. Currie, offers another example of interspecific fighting, this time in the Gorgosaurus branch of the family. Gorgosaurus was a mid-size tyrannosaur known almost exclusively from Alberta. Gorgosaurus is the predator with the highest representation in this area's fossil record, so it's very likely that this is Gorgo-on-Gorgo violence. Tragically, the wound shows no sign of healing, so the victim probably died soon after the incident.

Here's a graphic distributed by the University to accompany this announcement (Bell is the fellow below the dueling Gorgos):

When I first saw it, I thought to myself, "David, that illustration looks strangely familiar. It reminds me (and therefore you) of another artist's style." It didn't take long for me to figure it out: it looks like it could be the work of one Nicholas Gurewitch, whose now-on-hiatus comic Perry Bible Fellowship is wonderful, cool, and supremely fabulous to the extreme.

Here's an example of a dinosaur in his work. Maybe I'm nuts, but Philip Bell's drawing looks like what Gurewitch might do if he tried his hand at scientific illustration. I guess it's the stippling and the prominent outline. I'm not accusing Bell of using a ghost-artist, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was influenced by Gurewitch. It's probably just a coincidence, but I'm going to go ahead and email Bell to find out. If the response is interesting enough, I'll post it here.

Word!

UPDATE: Heard back from the man. No connection. Pure coincidence.

The Earliest Tyrannosaur

Since the tyrant lizards have been in the news so much lately, I figured I'd write a bit on our best known of the early tyrannosaurs, a beast discovered in Late Jurassic rock in China and named Guanlong. The other Jurassic tyrannosaurs are not nearly as well known. We have two relatively complete Guanlong specimens, an adult and a juvenile. While many tyrannosaurs feature head ornamentation of some sort - bumps, spikes, or small crests, Guanlong's head bore a large, delicate crest which in profile looks somewhat like that of Dilophosaurus.

Like the early Cretaceous Chinese tyrannosaur Dilong, it's likely that Guanlong was covered, at least partially, in hairy "proto-feathers." These would have been for warmth and display purposes, and the later giants of the family show no evidence of them, and would not have needed them to maintain their temperature as their large size would have done that job just fine. Both Guanlong and Dilong had three fingers; recently described Raptorex is the earliest tyrannosaur to bear the distinctive two-fingered hand.

National Geographic published a nice article on Guanlong in July of 2008, and the site also features a gallery dedicated to the fossilized mud trap where Guanlong was discovered with a whole mess of tasty fossils.


Drawing by Renato Santos.

Another Freakin' Tyrannosaur!

The tyrant lizards are on a certified hot streak right now. Chomping up column inches like baby hadrosaurs. Do we still use the term "column inches" in the digital age?

The news today is that a new Asian tyrannosaur of the Alioramus genus, named Alioramus altai, has made its debut in a paper published by the National Academy of Sciences.

This new tyrannosaur was on the small side for the family, with a less robust snout (though it was decked with horns) and finer teeth. A. altai's lighter body plan probably allowed it to go after smaller prey than its larger neighbor in Late Cretaceous Asia, Tarbosaurus. Lots of buzz about this one today: Paleoblog, Dinosaur Tracking, and a post by lead author Steve Brusatte at Archosaur Musings.