page_title: Timeline of tyrannosaur research
section_title: 1970s
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of tyrannosaur research / 20th century / 1970s
caption_attribution_description: 14365- dinosaur 4155
context_page_description: This timeline of tyrannosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the tyrannosaurs, a group of predatory theropod dinosaurs that began as small, long-armed bird-like creatures with elaborate cranial ornamentation but achieved apex predator status during the Late Cretaceous as their arms shrank and body size expanded. Although formally trained scientists did not begin to study tyrannosaur fossils until the mid-19th century, these remains may have been discovered by Native Americans and interpreted through a mythological lens. The Montana Crow tradition about thunder birds with two claws on their feet may have been inspired by isolated tyrannosaurid forelimbs found locally. Other legends possibly inspired by tyrannosaur remains include Cheyenne stories about a mythical creature called the Ahke, and Delaware stories about smoking the bones of ancient monsters to have wishes granted.
  Tyrannosaur remains were among the first dinosaur fossils collected in the United States. The first of these was named Deinodon horridus by Joseph Leidy. However, as this species was based only on teeth the name would fall into disuse.
context_section_description: 1970
  Dale Russell described the new genus and species Daspletosaurus torosus. He classified it in the family Tyrannosauridae rather than the historical home of tyrannosaurs, the Deinodontidae, setting a trend among paleontologists that would see the latter familial name fall into disuse in favor of the former. He observed that Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus lived at the same time and place, while Daspletosaurus was less common. He also noticed that hadrosaurs and ceratopsians were both present in the same deposits, with ceratopsians being less common. He speculated that this parallel may have been due to niche partitioning between the tyrannosaurs as each specialized in prey, with the lighter built and more common Gorgosaurus feeding on hadrosaurs and the more rugged and less common Daspletosaurus specializing in the rarer and more dangerous ceratopsians. He noted that while adult tyrannosaurs may have fed on such large prey, very young individuals would be limited to quarry like birds, frogs, mammals, and small reptiles.
  Rodney Steel classified tyrannosaurs as carnosaurs.
  1974
  Madsen described the new genus and species Stokesosaurus clevelandi. This is the oldest known tyrannosauroid.
  Maleev still classified tyrannosaurs in the family Deinodontidae.
  Ralph Molnar described the new genus and species Labocania anomala.
  1975
  1976
  Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov described the new genus and species Alioramus remotus as well as the new genus and species Itemirus medullaris.
  1977
  Dong described the new genus and species Shanshanosaurus huoyanshanensis.
  1978
  Paul Colinvaux interpreted tyrannosaurids as scavengers.
  1979
  Dong described the new genus and species Tyrannosaurus luanchuanensis.
caption: Skeletal mount of Alioramus remotus.
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