Tyrannosaur information | |
Scientific name : | Daspletosaurus torosus |
Name meaning : | Frightful Lizard |
Time period : | Late Cretaceous |
Location : | Western North America |
Feathers: | Yes |
Daspletosaurus ('frightful lizard') is a 10-metre-long
tyrannosaur, that lived in North America just before T-Rex. In some places its territory may have overlapped with that of Albertosaurus. It was slightly smaller than T-Rex, weighing only 2.5 to 3 tonnes; T-Rex weighed more than twice as much.
Daspletosaurus had massive teeth, the size of the teeth of T-Rex, and it was a formidable predator, capable of hunting in packs. It would have been faster than T-Rex, because it was also lighter than it.
Daspletosaurus has made a couple of appearances in popular culture. It played a starring role in an episode of Dinosaur Planet -
'Little Das Hunt'. Das is a young Daspletosaurus, and he hunts with his sister and mother. In the end they all perish in a volcanic storm. Daspletosaurus also appeared in the TV Series 'Dinosaur King', in which it was a fire dinosaur.