Tyrannosaurus

* Adult (Current)
* Adult (Future)
* Sub-adult
* Juvenile
* Hatchling

*"Tyrannosaurus rex (Tyrant Saurian King) is the most famous prehistoric animal on the planet, and is usually what comes to mind when someone hears the word "dinosaur". Tyrannosaurus is among the largest carnivores to ever walk the earth and the apex predator of Hell Creek. It possesses binocular vision, acute hearing and an incredible sense of smell. Although adult T. rex are enormous bulky powerhouses, young tyrannosaurs are extremely lithe in comparison, with thin snouts and long ostrich-like legs used for pursuing fast prey."*

― *Saurian* encyclopedia

***Tyrannosaurus***, also known as ***T. rex***, was a large carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived from 68 to 66 million years ago in the late Cretaceous. *Tyrannosaurus* is one of the most well known and most iconic prehistoric animal that has ever lived. It will be the third playable dinosaur to be released in the base *Saurian* game.

## Information

*Tyrannosaurus rex* measures around 12 meters (40 feet) long, with particularly large specimens approaching 13 meters (43 feet), stands approximately 3.7 meters (13 feet) tall at the hips, and weighed at least 7-9 tons. It was the largest terrestrial carnivore ever discovered in North America.

*Tyrannosaurus* were both hunters and scavengers like many modern predators, hunting hadrosaurs (such as *Anatosaurus*), ceratopsians (such as *Triceratops*) and even the occasional ankylosaur (such as *Denversaurus* and *Ankylosaurus*). *Tyrannosaurus* had one of the most powerful bite forces of any terrestrial animal ever to live, with a bite force surpassing many modern animals. Scientists presume that the bite force of *Tyrannosaurus* was 12,000 to 12,800 pounds (53,378 to 56,937 newtons) per square inch. Philip J. Currie of the University of Alberta has suggested that *Tyrannosaurus* may have been a pack animal. A study from Currie, Horner, Erickson and Longrich in 2010 has been put forward as evidence of cannibalism in the genus *Tyrannosaurus*. They studied some *Tyrannosaurus* specimens with tooth marks in the bones, attributable to the same genus.

There is debate on whether *Tyrannosaurus* had plumage or not. Its cousins *Dilong* and *Yutyrannus* had been discovered with feathers, and may have been present in other Tyrannosauroids as well. To most paleontologists, it seems very likely that *Tyrannosaurus* had at least some feathers. However, recent analysis on tyrannosaurid skin impressions, show that probably *Tyrannosaurus* lacked a dense coating of feathers and, if it had feathers, it will be in a similar way to how an elephant's fur is spread across its body. Dense feather coatings would most likely have been found on the torso, if they existed. The studies that propose a significant lack of feathers on *Tyrannosaurus* are based on the discovery of small skin impressions found in many members of the Tyrannosauridae that show scales on many parts of the body. Although this may indicate a significant lack of feathers, the study doesn't take in consideration that feathers can grow alongside scales in some dinosaurs, like in *Juravenator*.

A study in 2016 suggests that large theropods, like *Tyrannosaurus*, had enamel on it's teeth, which would mean they had their teeth covered in saliva, and therefore they would have to be protected from the exterior. It has therefore been suggested that *Tyrannosaurus* had lips covering it's teeth. This is, however, controversial, since in 2017, the comparison between the bone texture of *Daspletosaurus* and crocodilians, suggests that tyrannosaurs had large, flat scales on their mouths. This seems that, beyond indications of the existence of sensory neurons, between these scales, that were possibly used for identification of objects and measurement of temperature in the nest, tyrannosaurs would probably be lipless. Although the 2017 study doesn't discuss the possibility of lips existence in tyrannosaurs, most scientists consider this as evidence that tyrannosaurs, possibly including *Tyrannosaurus*, potentially did not had lips. However, the bundles that exist in the skulls of tyrannosaurs resemble more those of komodo dragons than those of crocodiles, indicating that tyrannosaurids may have had komodo dragon lips, instead of crocodilian lips.

## Physical appearance

### Current appearance

The *Tyrannosaurus* has a mix of feathers, scales, and bare skin. Initially, the *Tyrannosaurus* spends most of its life as a slim theropod, but when it matures into an adult it gains more bulk, as shown in the animals growth curve. *Tyrannosaurus* colors range from brown, white, and gray to match with its habitat, with its feathers growing progressively darker as it ages from hatchling to adult.

### Future appearance

*Tyrannosaurus* is completely scaly throughout it’s life. It spends it’s early life as a colorful, slim theropod. As it matures, it’s scales grow progressively darker to better match it’s habitat, save for it’s "eyebrows" and stripes on the neck. *Tyrannosaurus*' colors range from a dark brown (back), tan (underbelly and dorso), cream (transitional stripes on the dorso) and orange (ridges above the eye). This may change over time, as the new model is still in development.

## Behavior and Biology

*Tyrannosaurus* is the apex predator of the Hell Creek. A hyper-carnivore, it will eat most animals as an adult, but prefers the slow moving *Anatosaurus* and *Triceratops* as prey, targeting young and weak individuals as most smaller prey are too fast and nimble. Adult *Tyrannosaurus* will occupy large territories to sustain their requirements for food, defending their territories diligently. When two adults meet outside of breeding season, the results are usually violent, with face biting being common in these conflicts.

During breeding season, males and females locate each other and emit low-frequency sounds during courtship. After mating, the female *Tyrannosaurus* leaves the male, leaving the him to watch after the eggs and young. *Tyrannosaurus* displays strong parental care by watching over broods for years until their young reaches a moderate size. When this occurs, the father finally departs, but the juveniles stay together in a sibling pack, hunting prey together until they reach adulthood. Unlike the adults, younger *Tyrannosaurus* are extraordinarily fast. Young *Tyrannosaurus* use this trait to their advantage in hunting prey such as the Hell Creek Ornithomimid and *Anzu*.

At some point in its life, or possibly all its life, *Tyrannosaurus* will exhibit cannibalism.

## In *Saurian*

*Tyrannosaurus* is planned to be the next playable animal to be added in the future, but currently it is only an AI, and serves as a predator for theplayer. Currently there is no sexual dimorphism or ontogenic variety in *Tyrannosaurus*.

### *Dakotaraptor* gameplay

Hatchling and juvenile players are too small for the *Tyrannosaurus* to have any immediate interest, and some players use this as a means to follow one and take the meat that is taken down by one. However, getting anywhere close to a *Tyrannosaurus* at a more advanced life stage is risky for the player, as the former will see them as prey. *Tyrannosaurus* can kill the player with just one bite. The player cannot practice RPR on a *Tyrannosaurus* and so it is nearly impossible to take one down, as the player will most likely succumb to its quick reflexes. Despite being almost impossible to be brought down, however, there's a tactic, used by some players, to kill one: lure it to a herd of *Triceratops* or *Anatosaurus*, spawning a brawl leaving the player to wait until the *Tyrannosaurus* flees injured, or is finished by the herd. There's another, more direct, and also more hard, way to kill a *Tyrannosaurus* as an adult *Dakotaraptor*, but you do have to achieve a few requirements: firstly is to find flat terrain, as fighting in slopes will give you higher chances to receive trample damage from it; secondly is to aim its tail or its thigh while circling around, and you might want to keep doing this repeatedly for a long time as a superadult, but you must be careful as it attempts to bite or even flee.

### *Triceratops* gameplay

*Tyrannosaurus* are extremely dangerous animals during the younger life stages of *Triceratops*. As very young hatchlings, *Tyrannosaurus* may not see you as prey, due to being too small, but they can still trample you. Approaching the juvenile stage, your size is already considerable and *Tyrannosaurus* will see you as food. *Tyrannosaurus* are much faster than *Triceratops*, so when being chased by one, your best bet is to stay protected by the numbers of the herd or try your best to juke its attacks or take refuge in herds of bigger herbivorous dinosaurs. *Tyrannosaurus* strong bite can take large amounts of health from you, which makes them specially dangerous. However, *Tyrannosaurus* are lonely hunters and if the junction of your herd members strength outnumber the strength of the tyrant, the whole herd may gang up against the *Tyrannosaurus*, forcing it to leave, injured, or die altogether. Closer to the adult stage, you are able to kill a *Tyrannosaurus* by yourself, but you must take caution as the theropod has a nearly equal chance of killing you as well, so make sure you stay away from its bites and charge at it with more frequency than the damage it deals to you.

## Behind the scenes

All members of *Saurian'*s concept artists were involved in designed the *Tyrannosaurus*.

Based on the specimen FMNH PR 2081 "Sue" (particularly a now inaccurate skeletal by Scott Hartman) and designed by Alex "Doc" Lewko, the pre-2015 design of the *Tyrannosaurus* was different than the current design. It had black feathers spanning from the top of its head down to the tip of its tail. The feathers on the top of the head and under the throat were not as thick as the rest of the body. The head markings on the original concept were orange with a white horizontal stripe starting mid-head through the neck being split by the theropod's eye. Another version also by Lewko featuring the face being dark blue with red wattle and lighter orange marking mixed with pink markings. The white stripe that ran mid-head down to the neck was also absent. The latter design was made into a model, being originally utilized for the video game *Project Crynosaurs*, which the *Saurian* developers were originally apart of until they split and created *Saurian*. Upon the split, the *Tyrannosaurus* model saw usage in early stages of the game's development.

In 2015, the *Tyrannosaurus* received a redesign. This redesign was spurred by a variety of factors. One of these factors was that RJ "Arvalis" Palmer had been frequently requesting the development team for a redesign due to a number of issues the then current design had. Jake Baardse's improved skills and more knowledge of the anatomy of *Tyrannosaurus* also played a role in redesigning the game's *Tyrannosaurus,* but it was the conversion from the CryEngine to the Unity game engine that played a prominent role in the dinosaur's new look. The original model created for the CryEngine from 2013 was old and despite it working in Unity, the steps taken to make it work in CryEngine limited the team's animator Bryan Phillps ability to set up ragdolls as well as other basic functions. Furthermore, new techniques that Phillps had an interest in implementing were stymied by the old model. The CryEngine model also caused problems for the team when they were updating and correcting discrepancies per newfound information.

All of the concept artists for the game were involved in the redesign. RJ Palmer created many potential designs for the new *Tyrannosaurus*. One design had a black coat of feathers covering the upper torso with small, stringy plumage on the back of its neck and at the tip of the tail. Its head was completely void of feathers.

    The redesign featured feathers spanning from the top of the head, covering the majority of the torso, to the top of the base of the tail. The feathers themselves were brown and tan with a new non-frayed design, presumably from the game's researcher Tom Parker's research into dinosaur integument. The feet were redesigned based on fossil tyrannosaur track-ways discovered in Canada in 2014. The specimen "Stan" was chosen in place of "Sue" to design the new *Tyrannosaurus*. In the blog post unveiling the game's new look for the *Tyrannosaurus*, Nick Turinetti explained that this was because of Stan's smaller size, but it was more primarily due to the fact that Stan lived closer to *Saurian'*s setting than Sue which would allow for more accuracy. The new design would further receive changes when its model was made, particularly a more elongated skull and a thinner lower jaw.

    In addition, the specimens MOR 6625 "Chomper" and BMRP 2002.4.1 "Jane" served as references for the juvenile and sub-adult *Tyrannosaurus* respectively. The specimen "Jane" is debated among paleontologists on whether or not it is actually *Tyrannosaurus* or *Nanotyrannus*.

For April Fool's 2015, RJ Palmer created a "new design" for the *Tyrannosaurus* that was purposely inaccurate, standing on its tail among other inaccuracies.

In 2017 new studies provided sufficient information for a redesign on the model. This new model is mostly, if not all scaly and has no visible feathers.

## Gallery

### Videos

Saurian - Sub-Adult Tyrannosaurus Speed Sculpt
### Images

More recent scrapped *Tyrannosaurus* with kill*Tyrannosaurus* running GIFScrapped *Tyrannosaurus* with killNew *T. rex* skin, muscles and skeletonSubadult Tyrannosaurus modelAdult and subadult Tyrannosaurus modelsJuvenile Tyrannosaurus headJuvenile Tyrannosaurus modelHatchling Tyrannosaurus modelTyrannosaurus hatchlingTyrannosaurus juvenileTyrannosaurus subadultTyrannosaurus nictitating membraneYoung Tyrannosaurus passing through Sequoia leaf litterTyrannosaurus fanart, by Mustard
For a more complete gallery, visit Tyrannosaurus/Gallery

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Playable Animals. *Saurian* Website. Retrieved September 7, 2016
2. ↑ Excrepted from Part 2 of the September 19, 2016 livestream at 00:21:11:

**hitchcockzoo** : @SaurianGame, Will the T. rexes be cannibals?

**SaurianGame\s** : yes
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sabriana. (September 9, 2015) I Know Dino Podcast Show Notes: Acheroraptor (Episode 43). *iknowndino.com* Retrieved September 9, 2016
4. ↑ Switek, Brian. (December 14, 2014) Behind the Scenes of ‘Saurian’, a Dinosaur Simulator. *Dinologue*. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Turinetti, Nick. (September 7, 2015) Redesigning a Tyrant: Meet the New Tyrannosaurus rex. *Saurian Website*. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
6. ↑ CRYENGINE - Project Crynosaurs - The Ambush. *YouTube*.
7. ↑ (September 2013) Interview: Project Crynosaurs. *Cunzy1 1's Dinosaurs in Games Blog*.
8. ↑ (November 3, 2013) *Saurian* Facebook.
9. ↑ Saurian: Hell Creek Pre-Alpha Gameplay. *YouTube*
10. ↑ Saurian-Tyrannosaurus rex. *Deviantart*.
11. ↑ Turinetti, Nick. (April 17, 2016) April 13th Livestream: The Aftermath. *Saurian* Website. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
12. ↑ (April 1, 2015) *Saurian* Facebook.