Teratophoneus curriei

[Derdadort]

by Nobu Tamura under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license


Classification:
Dinosauria
Saurischia
Theropoda
Coelurosauria
Tyrannosauroidea
Tyrannosauridae
Tyrannosaurinae
Teratophoneus
Teratophoneus curriei (Carr et al., 2011)

Fossilsite: Kaiparowits-Formation, Utah (USA)
Age: 76,1 - 74 mya (Late Campanium, Upper Cretaceous)
Holotype: BYU 8120/9396, 8120/9397, 826/9402, 9398, 13719 (thought to be four specimen)

Description:
Teratophoneus (greek teratos = "monster" and phoneus = "murderer") was a genus of big tyrannosaurid dinosaurs from the late Campanium of Utah. Only known species is T.curriei. The holotype consists of a fragmentary skull and parts of the postcranial skeletton, which were asigned to four different specimen, but are in fact part of one subadult individual.
In contrast to other tyrannosaurids Teratophoneus had a rather short skull, which is inter alia indicated by a lower number of teeth and a short and steep maxilla. Carr et al. postulate the skull shape of an adult Teratophoneus would differ from the holotype's skull, because other tyrannosaurines also show differences in skull shape between subadult and adult specimens. So it's very likely that the skull of an adult T.curriei was even more "short-snouted" than in the holotype, which means the skull shape of T.currei was unique among Tyrannosaurinae.
On the basis of the femur Carr et al. estimate the holotype's mass to about 667kg. So T.curriei was probably larger than Alioramus.

Systematics:
Teratophoneus was a member of the subfamily Tyrannosaurinae. It was more derived than Alioramus and faces the clade of Daspletosaurus, Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.

Shortened cladogram after Carr et al. (2011)


by myself (Paint ftw!)

Locality:
The remains of T.curriei were found in Southern Utah in the deposits of the Kaiparowits formation. This formation is dated to the late Campanium and about 76,1 to 74 million years old. Thereby Teratophoneus is the only known Campanian tyrannosaurid of that region and the first tyrannosauroid of the Kaiparowits formation. Other Campanian tyrannosaurids of North America were only found in the north of the Rocky Mountains.
So Teratophoneus expands the temporal and geographical distribution area of the Tyrannosaurinae and proves an early diversification of North American tyrannosauroids.

Source:
Thomas D. Car, Thomas E. Williamson, Brooks B. Britt, Ken Stadtman: "Evidence for high taxonomic and morphologic tyrannosauroid diversity in the Late Cretaceous (Late Campanian) of the American Southwest and a new short-skulled tyrannosaurid from the Kaiparowits formation of Utah", Naturwissenschaften 98 (3): 241–246, 2011
Link: app.box.com/s/qwxefbecrcp5oxlgggcg

[Infinity Blade]

Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness

Tyrannosaurids are hypothesized to be gregarious, possibly parasocial carnivores engaging in cooperative hunting and extended parental care. A tyrannosaurid (cf. Teratophoneus curriei) bonebed in the late Campanian age Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah, nicknamed the Rainbows and Unicorns Quarry (RUQ), provides the first opportunity to investigate possible tyrannosaurid gregariousness in a taxon unique to southern Laramidia. Analyses of the site’s sedimentology, fauna, flora, stable isotopes, rare earth elements (REE), charcoal content and taphonomy suggest a complex history starting with the deaths and transport of tyrannosaurids into a peri-fluvial, low-energy lacustrine setting. Isotopic and REE analyses of the fossil material yields a relatively homogeneous signature indicating the assemblage was derived from the same source and represents a fauna living in a single ecospace. Subsequent drying of the lake and fluctuating water tables simultaneously overprinted the bones with pedogenic carbonate and structurally weakened them through wet-dry cycling. Abundant charcoal recovered from the primary bone layer indicate a low temperature fire played a role in the site history, possibly triggering an avulsion that exhumed and reburied skeletal material on the margin of a new channel with minimal transport. Possible causes of mortality and concentration of the tyrannosaurids include cyanobacterial toxicosis, fire, and flooding, the latter being the preferred hypothesis. Comparisons of the RUQ site with other North American tyrannosaur bonebeds (Dry Island-Alberta; Daspletosaurus horneri-Montana) suggest all formed through similar processes. Combined with ichnological evidence, these tyrannosaur mass-burial sites could be part of an emerging pattern throughout Laramidia reflecting innate tyrannosaurid behavior such as habitual gregariousness.

peerj.com/articles/11013/