[D] Gorgosaurus lancinator [Su]
Describer
Maleev, 1955
Time
Cretaceous Late Campanian Maastrichtian
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tyrannosauria Tyrannosauridae
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Nemegt Formation,, Altan-Ula, Orliny Utes, Mongolia
Fall Under
Tarbosaurus
Length
9 meter
Info
Skull
Tarbosaurus bataar (Maleev, 1955) = Tyrannosaurus bataar * (Maleev, 1955) > Tarbosaurus efremovi (Maleev, 1955) Gorgosaurus lancinator (Maleev, 1955) ? Albertosaurus periculosus (Riabinin, 1930) ?Tyrannosaurus turpanensis (Zhai, Zheng, & Tong, 1978) * Jenghizkhan (Olshevsky vide Olshevsky, Ford & Yamamoto, 1995)
(\\\\\\\"shredder\\\\\\\" or \\\\\\\"one who tears to pieces\\\\\\\") for a skull and associated fragmentary postcranial remains of an animal about 9 meters long (PIN 553-1);
From: Maleev, E. A. (1955). [New carnivorous dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia]. Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 104: 779-783. (In Russian)
Translated by F. J. Alcock
Species Gorgosaurus lancinator sp. nov.
Type of species
Skull, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, metacarpal, and metatarsals. Collection of the Paleontological Institute, Academy of Sciences USSR, # 553-1.
Diagnosis
Large carnivorous dinosaur attaining 9 m in length and from 3.5 to 5 m in height. Skull (Fig. 2) massive structure, elevated and less elongated than the case of Tarbosaurus. Orbit large and approximately ellipsoid. Maxilla elongated and slightly truncated anteriorly. The first antorbital fenestra very large, the maximum height 198 mm. Premaxilla bears 4 small teeth, maxilla – 12. The first maxillary tooth surpasses considerably in size the last premaxillary tooth.
The anterior tooth of the dentary is smaller than the next following. The teeth are somewhat compressed laterally and are lenticular in transverse section. The dorsal vertebrae are amphicoelous, elevated, strongly compressed laterally. Manus short with two digits (I, II). Metatarsals long, the distal part of Mt3 more massive than the lateral metatarsals. Claws extremely strong, sharp.
Comparative notes
Skull of Gorgosaurus lancinator sp. nov. in its general proportions is similar to the skull of Gorgosaurus libratus (Lambe, 1914) although somewhat smaller in size, the maxilla less massive and the snout narrower. The Mongolian Gorgosaurus differs from Gorgosaurus sternbergi (Matthew & Brown, 1923)
and Gorgosaurus lancensis (Gilmore, 1946) by the large size of the skull and by the absence of the bony lacrimal projection. These distinctions compel us to classify the form described above as a new species of the genus Gorgosaurus lancinator sp. nov.
Locality
Nemegt Basin , Altan-Ula, Orliny Utes.
Period
Cretaceous Late.
Material
Skull, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, metacarpals and metatarsals, and digital phalanges.
Source: Polyglot Paleontologist