Page 133 - Prehistoric Animals

Tarb-O-Sorus

Tarbosaurus

What is a Dinosaur ?
Known as a Dinosaur

Tarbosaurus (alarming lizard) is a genus of tyranno-
saurine* theropod dinosaur that roamed Asia during the Late
Cretaceous period about 70 to 65 million years ago. It was
around 13 metres in length and weighed in around 6 tonnes.
Since its discovery Tarbosaurus has had a long and controver-
sial hill to climb to get recognition as a new species. Finally in
1955, Evgeny Maleev, named it as a new species; Tarbosaurus;
this genus is now generally accepted. However, T. Bataar is the
only recognised species of the genus Tarbosaurus.

Tarbosaurus was a huge carnivorous dinosaur with an
exceptionally large head. Its jaws, equipped with a unique lock-
ing system, were lined with around sixty large sharp serrated
teeth. As a bipedal with a huge body to support its not surpris-
ing that it had two long very thick muscular legs with large three
toed feet. Its arms however, were incredibly short with equally
small two fingered hands. Why its arms were so short is a bit of
a mystery; some believe, because it had such a large head and
large thick tail, it was something to do with the animals balance
and its ability to stand upright.

Although, today, it lives in the shadow of Tyrannosaurus
Rex, Tarbosaurus was roaming Asia long before T.Rex ever ap-
peared. In Tarbosaurus day many of the land masses of the
world were still connected, leading some to believe, as they are
so similar, it could be a distant ancestor of T.Rex. Numerus fos-
sils of Tarbosaurus have been found scattered across Asia, proof
if needed of its success as a predator over a very long period of
time.
Many are quick to point out how small a brain Tarbo-
saurus had. However, it was big enough to keep it going for mil-
lions of years and still be around to enter the record book as one
of the last surviving dinosaurs. Is there are lesson here for us
with our large brain,….. maybe?

*Tyrannosaurinae (Wikipedia)
(sometimes referred to as tyrannosaurines) is one of the two extinct sub-
families of Tyrannosauridae, a family of coelurosaurian* theropods that consists of
at least three tribes and several genera. All fossils of these genera have been found
in the Late Cretaceous deposits of western North America and east Asia.
*Coelurosauria (Wikipedia)
is a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs that includes compsognathids, tyran-
nosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, and maniraptorans; Maniraptora includes birds, the
only known dinosaur group alive today