Teratophoneus

*Teratophoneus curriei*

James Gurney Artwork

***Teratophoneus*** is a genus of carnivorous tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur which lived during the late Cretaceous period (late Campanian age, about 77 to 76 million years ago) in what is now Utah, USA. It is known from an incomplete skull and postcranial skeleton recovered from the Kaiparowits Formation. They could potentially hunted Gryposaurus and Kosmoceratops. It was estimated to be about 20 feet (roughly 6 meters) in length and one metric ton in weight,this is only a juvenile and Aults are likely over 8 Meters(27 Feet) in length. *Teratophoneus* was named by Thomas D. Carr, Thomas E. Williamson, Brooks B. Britt and Ken Stadtman in 2011 and the type species is *T. curriei*. The generic name is derived from Greek teras, "monster", and phoneus, "murderer". The specific name honors Philip J. Currie.

## Description

The holotype of Teratophoneus consists of a fragmentary skull and parts of the postcranial skeleton. The fossils were originally assigned to four different individuals, but are probably only of a single subadult animal. The specimen of Teratophoneus was not fully grown: according to an estimate by Carr et al. was about 6 metres (20 ft) in length and 667 kg in weight.

There is indication for social behaviore for this Tyrannosaurid species, In July 2014, researchers looking for fossil turtles in southern Utah’s public lands found hints of a “monstrous murderer”: the ankle bone of a tyrannosaur named *Teratophoneus.* Within hours, they had brushed through the sand between pinyon junipers and found the jumbled remains of multiple *Teratophoneus—*all of which seemed to have died in the same place, at the same time. Scientists unveiled the site to the world in a study published last Tuesday in the scientific journal *PeerJ*, suggesting tyrannosaurs congregated in social groups. “Dinosaur behavior, dinosaur ecology, is probably always going to turn out a little more complex than we think at any given time,” says lead study author Alan Titus, a paleontologist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who works in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, where the site is located. Titus even thinks that the site could be evidence that tyrannosaurs worked together as cooperative pack hunters. “Now you’ve got these giant terrestrial predators behaving in a group, much more akin to a pack of wolves and a pride of lions, [which] is staggering,” he says. Thomas Carr, a paleontologist at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who wasn’t involved with the new study, says that finding more signs of social dinosaurs shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. Extinct dinosaurs belong to a bigger group called the archosaurs, which includes social animals such as modern birds, alligators, and crocodiles.

Compared to the skull of an *Albertosaurus*, *Teratophoneus* is roughly twenty-three percent shorter in proportion between the lacrimal bone of the orbital fenestra and the tip of the snout. The skull of *Teratophoneus* is also comparably deeper. It is unclear if there was a specific reason for these differences, but the extra depth may have allowed for stronger jaw muscles, increasing the bite force of *Teratophoneus*.

## Discovery and naming

Fossils of Teratophoneus were first found in the Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah. Later, fossils from the same formation were discovered and identified as the genus. Argon-argon radiometric dating indicates that the Kaiparowits Formation was deposited between 76.1 and 74.0 million years ago, during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. This date means that Teratophoneus lived in the middle of the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Three different fossils of Teratophoneus have been found. Originally, Teratophoneus was described based on the holotype UMNH VP 16690. More recently, the specimens UMNP VP 16691 and BYU 8120 have been assigned to it.

## Classification

Loewen et al. (2013) conducted a phylogenetic analysis and confirmed the assignment of Teratophoneus to the theropod sub-family tyrannosaurinae. Teratophoneus was closely related but more primitive than the large theropods Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus, but more derived than Daspletosaurus.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* A Tyrannosaur skeleton is seen in the Lockwood Manor in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Which could be a Teratophoneus. "Based on one of the Skeletons that are displayed at the Natural History Museum of Utah". Also, a carcass of Teratophoneus was also see outside of the old transmitter station on Isla Nublar as it's 1st Big Screen appearance.
* A rather well-known artist goes by the online alias, "Teratophoneus."

## References

1. ↑ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/teratophoneus-utahs-monstrous-murderous-new-tyrannosaur-93169649/
2. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/did-tyrannosaurs-live-in-groups-experts-discuss-new-fossil-clues