Dinosaur fans will know that there were many different tyrannosaur taxa. Whilst on a visit to a museum, an Everything Dinosaur team member spotted a tyrannosaur dentary. The theropod jawbone was located away from the Tyrannosaurus rex exhibit. The fossil represents a member of the Tyrannosauridae family. The fossil is from a Daspletosaurus. The accompanying information did not state the species.

Daspletosaurus dentary.
A Daspletosaurus dentary on display at a museum (Natural History Museum London). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Daspletosaurus

Daspletosaurus roamed western North America (Laramidia) during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian faunal stage). Several species have been assigned to this genus. The genus was erected in 1970 (D. torosus). Subsequently, other species have been assigned including Daspletosaurus horneri in 2017 and Daspletosaurus wilsoni (2022).

To read about the naming of Daspletosaurus horneri: New Species of Daspletosaurus Announced.

For an article on the recently described: Daspletosaurus wilsoni: New Daspletosaurus Species Named.

There remains some uncertainty as to the taxonomic position of several tyrannosaur specimens known from the Late Cretaceous of North America.

Drawing of Daspletosaurus.
Larger tyrannosaur present in the Late Cretaceous ecosystem. An illustration of Daspletosaurus. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) depicts a Daspletosaurus based on the CollectA model. To view this range of models and figures: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Animal Models.

The Tyrannosaur Dentary

The tyrannosaur jawbone (right dentary) depicts the typical D-shaped crowns associated with these theropods. A total of ten teeth can be viewed in the jawbone (buccal view). The buccal view shows the side of the jaw that is adjacent to the cheek.

Although Daspletosaurus was a large and powerful hunter, the lower jaw is less robust than the fossils associated with Tyrannosaurus rex.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“The dentary is in an exceptional state of preservation. Museum visitors could easily overlook this excellent tyrannosaur dentary. However, fossils such as these can tell palaeontologists a lot about the Daspletosaurus genus and theropod dinosaurs in general.”

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