Thanatotheristes

Name: Thanatotheristes ‭(‬Death reaper‭)‬.
Phonetic: Fan-ah-to-feh-riss-teez.
Named By: Jared T.‭ ‬Voris,‭ ‬Francois Therrien,‭ ‬Darla K.‭ ‬Zelenitzky‭ & ‬Caleb M.‭ ‬Brown‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Tyrannosauridae,‭ ‬Daspletosaurini, Tyrannosaurinae
Species: T.‭ ‬degrootorum‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size:‭ ‬Estimated length of the skull up to‭ ‬80‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ (‬holotype fossils are from a sub adult,‭ ‬so fully grown adults likely a little bit larger‭).
Known locations: Canada,‭ ‬Alberta‭ ‬-‭ ‬Foremost Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and dentaries‭ (‬jaw bones‭)‬,‭ ‬probably from a sub adult individual.




       At the time of the genus description,‭ ‬Thanatotheristes is known only from very partially preserved skull and jaw bones.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬these‭ ‬bones show that Thanatotheristes was a large tyrannosaur,‭ ‬and one with a close similarity to Daspletosaurus.‭ ‬The discovery of Thanatotheristes has also added further evidence that the tyrannosaurs of Laramidia‭ (‬the land mass of North America that was to the left of‭ ‬the Western Interior Seaway that once submerged the middle of North America‭) ‬were divided into North and South populations,‭ ‬with distinct differences between them.
       Possible prey animals for Thanatotheristes to hunt could include ceratopsian dinosaurs such as Xenoceratops,‭ ‬which are also known from the same fossil bearing formation as Thanatotheristes.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new tyrannosaurine‭ (‬Theropoda:Tyrannosauridae‭) ‬from the Campanian Foremost Formation of Alberta,‭ ‬Canada,‭ ‬provides insight into the evolution and biogeography of tyrannosaurids.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cretaceous Research.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jared T.‭ ‬Voris,‭ ‬Francois Therrien,‭ ‬Darla K.‭ ‬Zelenitzky‭ & ‬Caleb M.‭ ‬Brown‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.



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