HOME | DD

Description
Named by Thomas Carr and Thomas Williamson, 2011
Diet: Carnivore (Prey included hadrosaurs such as Gryposaurus monumentensis and Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, as well as ceratopsians such as Kosmoceratops, Utahceratops, and Nasutoceratops)
Length: 20 feet (6 meters)
Weight: 1,650 lb
Region: Southern Utah (Kaiparowits Formation) USA
Age: 77-75.5 million BC (Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Rivals: Deinosuchus hatcheri (a giant, 33-foot alligatorid that also inhabited the region)
Note: This theropod is known from a subadult, so it would've been even larger.

Discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, which had yielded numerous remains of dinosaurs and other Cretaceous lifeforms and gives us a unique glimpse into life and diversity on the ancient landmass of Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous period, Teratophoneus curriei was first described in 2011 and its name means "Monstrous Murderer" where as curriei honors Phillip J. Currie, a Canadian paleontologist from the University of Alberta, who is an expert on theropods.

But despite its name, this relative of the giant, famous tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Gorgosaurus libratus was much smaller and it was only one-tenth the weight of Tyrannosaurus rex.

However, the holotype specimen of this theropod (consists of a partial skull and additional elements from the rest of the skeleton) was from a subadult, which meant that this animal would've been even larger.

But Teratophoneus is distinguished from other tyrannosaurids by having a short skull containing a reduced number of teeth from most of its relatives. Compared to the skull of Albertosaurus, the skull of this dinosaur is roughly 23% shorter in proportion between the lacrimal bone of the orbital fenestra and the tip of the snout. The skull itself is also comparably deeper and the extra depth may have allowed for stronger jaw muscles, increasing the bite force of Teratophoneus.

The discovery of Teratophoneus curriei is important, because, along with Bistahieversor sealeyi and Lythronax argestes (also found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, but geologically older), it is one of the few species of tyrannosaurids to be found living in the southwest from its northern relatives such as Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus and it helps fill the gap in the evolution of these group of deadly, awesome theropod dinosaurs.

Today, the Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah is an arid and inhospitable landscape that comprises a series of cliffs and plateaus. But during the time Teratophoneus was alive, some 76 million years ago during the Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, the region was alot different. It was a warm, coastal, tropical swamp near the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow inland sea that split North America into two landmasses and extends to the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The region was shoreline property on the eastern edge of the ancient island landmass called Laramidia, a slender strip running from Alaska to Mexico and lay in the western margin. The area was carpeted with lush vegetation that most closely resembled a modern rainforest, with tall stands of trees draped with vines stood between patches of swamp. It would've looked a lot like today's coastal Louisiana.

Teratophoneus was most likely at the top of the foodchain in this dinosaurian paradise, preying on the hadrosaurs and bizarre horned ceratopsians that it inhabited the area. However, it would've come into conflict with (or even sometimes fallen victim to) the giant, 33-foot (10-metre) alligatorid that inhabited the region, Deinosuchus that also shared the region (see www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/513… and www.smithsonianmag.com/science… ).

Teratophoneus's distribution and distinguishing appearance from its northern relatives, suggests that they evolved independently from one another. It could be that the mountainous areas of Laramidia and the Western Interior Seaway combined to keep the tyrannosaurid population geographically isolated and resulting the northern and southern groups to evolve in distinct forms. This similar thing happens with other dinosaur species living in Laramidia, such as the horned ceratopsians, like Kosmoceratops and Utahceratops, which they also lived alongside Teratophoneus.

Note: Based on scotthartman.deviantart.com/ar…
I was having a hard time deciding the coloration, so I decided to give it a green coloration with tiger stripes, which would've been ideal for camouflage in its lush environment. I also gave red display feathers in its arms and head.

Description
Named by Thomas Carr and Thomas Williamson, 2011
Diet: Carnivore (Prey included hadrosaurs such as Gryposaurus monumentensis and Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, as well as ceratopsians such as Kosmoceratops, Utahceratops, and Nasutoceratops)
Length: 20 feet (6 meters)
Weight: 1,650 lb
Region: Southern Utah (Kaiparowits Formation) USA
Age: 77-75.5 million BC (Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Rivals: Deinosuchus hatcheri (a giant, 33-foot alligatorid that also inhabited the region)
Note: This theropod is known from a subadult, so it would've been even larger.

Discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, which had yielded numerous remains of dinosaurs and other Cretaceous lifeforms and gives us a unique glimpse into life and diversity on the ancient landmass of Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous period, Teratophoneus curriei was first described in 2011 and its name means "Monstrous Murderer" where as curriei honors Phillip J. Currie, a Canadian paleontologist from the University of Alberta, who is an expert on theropods.

But despite its name, this relative of the giant, famous tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Gorgosaurus libratus was much smaller and it was only one-tenth the weight of Tyrannosaurus rex.

However, the holotype specimen of this theropod (consists of a partial skull and additional elements from the rest of the skeleton) was from a subadult, which meant that this animal would've been even larger.

But Teratophoneus is distinguished from other tyrannosaurids by having a short skull containing a reduced number of teeth from most of its relatives. Compared to the skull of Albertosaurus, the skull of this dinosaur is roughly 23% shorter in proportion between the lacrimal bone of the orbital fenestra and the tip of the snout. The skull itself is also comparably deeper and the extra depth may have allowed for stronger jaw muscles, increasing the bite force of Teratophoneus.

The discovery of Teratophoneus curriei is important, because, along with Bistahieversor sealeyi and Lythronax argestes (also found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, but geologically older), it is one of the few species of tyrannosaurids to be found living in the southwest from its northern relatives such as Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus and it helps fill the gap in the evolution of these group of deadly, awesome theropod dinosaurs.

Today, the Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah is an arid and inhospitable landscape that comprises a series of cliffs and plateaus. But during the time Teratophoneus was alive, some 76 million years ago during the Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, the region was alot different. It was a warm, coastal, tropical swamp near the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow inland sea that split North America into two landmasses and extends to the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The region was shoreline property on the eastern edge of the ancient island landmass called Laramidia, a slender strip running from Alaska to Mexico and lay in the western margin. The area was carpeted with lush vegetation that most closely resembled a modern rainforest, with tall stands of trees draped with vines stood between patches of swamp. It would've looked a lot like today's coastal Louisiana.

Teratophoneus was most likely at the top of the foodchain in this dinosaurian paradise, preying on the hadrosaurs and bizarre horned ceratopsians that it inhabited the area. However, it would've come into conflict with (or even sometimes fallen victim to) the giant, 33-foot (10-metre) alligatorid that inhabited the region, Deinosuchus that also shared the region (see www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/513… and www.smithsonianmag.com/science… ).

Teratophoneus's distribution and distinguishing appearance from its northern relatives, suggests that they evolved independently from one another. It could be that the mountainous areas of Laramidia and the Western Interior Seaway combined to keep the tyrannosaurid population geographically isolated and resulting the northern and southern groups to evolve in distinct forms. This similar thing happens with other dinosaur species living in Laramidia, such as the horned ceratopsians, like Kosmoceratops and Utahceratops, which they also lived alongside Teratophoneus.

Note: Based on scotthartman.deviantart.com/ar…
I was having a hard time deciding the coloration, so I decided to give it a green coloration with tiger stripes, which would've been ideal for camouflage in its lush environment. I also gave red display feathers in its arms and head.