Tarbosaurus

*Tarbosaurus baatar* (pronounced **tar-bow-sawr-rus bay-ah-tar** and meaning 'Awesome Lizard Hero') is a large, carnivorous apex predator from the Late Cretaceous Period. It is believed to be the Tyrannosaurus Rex's smaller, slimmer cousin, and the adults were most likely duirnal (active during the day), while the babies were nocturnal (active during the night). It's original habitat would have been a desert, and therefore Tarbosaurus DNA can be found from arid fossils. It is one of the three planned carnivores for the 1.0.0 release, and will be the second largest prehistoric creature to be added during that version.

## Appearance

* Male Tarbosaurus
* Female Tarbosaurus
* Baby Tarbosaurus
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The Tarbosaurus is a bi-pedal therapod that is very similar in appearance to the Tyrannosaurus, just slightly smaller and slimmer. It is approximately 10 blocks long and 3.5 blocks tall. There is currently no difference between the males and females in model or texture. All Tarbosaurus are a sandy-brown colour, with darker brown markings and a lighter cream underbelly. Finally, they have a red crest on the top of their nose and head which trails down their spine and thins to a stop at around the shoulders. Currently the babies will also have the same texture.

The current model and texture will be remade and therefore this model of Tarbosaurus won't be the final 1.0.0 release model. The male, female, and babies are all planned to have different textures as well, while the females will be slightly larger than the males.

## Behaviour

The Tarbosaurus is an apex predator and will prey on anything smaller than it, including passive vanilla animals, herbivores, and other carnivores. However, as it is a carnivore, it will not eat fish or prehistoric aquatic creatures. It was not considered to be a cannibal, and therefore it is safe to house several Tarbosaurus together in the same enclosure. Adults of the species are duirnal (only active during the day), but the babies are nocturnal (only active during the night).

### Feeding

The Tarbosaurus, as a carnivore, will eat all kinds of meat, and can also be fed through live prey such as passive animals. Due to their size, they can eat all passive animals with ease. They will also eat from ground feeders that have meat in them.

### Taming

In order to safely interact with a Tarbosaurus, you're going to want to tame it. Otherwise, it will most likely eat you. The babies, on the other hand, are inherently shy and non-aggressive, and will run away from the player when they approach. Currently the method of taming is still WIP, and taming mechanics may not be implemented in the initial 1.0.0 release.

### Breeding

As long as two Tarbosaurus of opposite genders are close enough together, then breeding can start to occur. A female Tarbosaurus will lay anywhere between 1-4 eggs. For the eggs to hatch, they must be either laid on a nest, or collected and then placed onto one. The eggs will progress through three stages (starting, uncracked stage, slightly cracked, and very cracked) before hatching. On average, hatching will take around a quarter of a minecraft day, or 5 minutes.

## Real Life

*Tarbosaurus bataar* fossils were first discovered in sandstone deposits in Mongolia, in 1946. They were officially named as a new species in 1955, originally called *Tyrannosaurus bataar*, and it wasn't until 1999 that all fossils found in that same digsite were labelled the same species, under the name *Tarbosaurus bataar*. Since then, Tarbosaurus skeletons have only been found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China, most commonly in the Nemegt Formation.

Tarbosaurus was found in sandstone deposits, and therefore scientists are resonably certain that they lived in deserts, or at least desert flood plains, or some other humid environment. Evidence from Tarbosaurus skulls suggests that it was both a predator and a scavenger, however further research into stress fractures in some bones suggests that Tarbosaurus was more of a 'very active' predator, rather than an obligate scavenger. It is more likely that they were preferred predators, but could scavenge if it needed to. It was found to most likely have focussed its feeding efforts on some of the larger species in its area, such as titanosaurs and hadrosaurs, and its bite force suggests it could crush bone just like its Tyrannosaurus cousin. While there isn't enough evidence to suggest Tarbosaurus' daily schedule one way or the other, it has been discovered from juvinile skeletons, that the babies were most likely crepuscular or nocturnal hunters.

Tarbosaurus was likely around 9-10m long. Also, unlike the Tyrannosaurus, which had forward-facing eyes that provided some degree of binocular vision, Tarbosaurus had a narrower skull in which the eyes faced primarily sideways. All of this suggests that Tarbosaurus relied more on its senses of smell and hearing than on its eyesight.

### References

* Maleev, Evgeny A. (1955). "Giant carnivorous dinosaurs of Mongolia". *Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR*. **104** (4): 634–637.
* Carr, Thomas D.; Williamson, Thomas E.; Schwimmer, David R. (2005). "A new genus and species of tyrannosauroid from the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian) Demopolis Formation of Alabama". *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*. **25** (1): 119–143. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0119:ANGASO]2.0.CO;2.
* Krzysztof Owocki, Barbara Kremer, Martin Cotte, Hervé Bocherens. (2020). "Diet preferences and climate inferred from oxygen and carbon isotopes of tooth enamel of Tarbosaurus bataar (Nemegt Formation, Upper Cretaceous, Mongolia)", Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Volume 537, 2020, 109190, ISSN 0031-0182, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.012.
* **Black, Riley (July 15, 2010). "Tarbosaurus: A Predator and a Scavenger With a Delicate Bite". *Smithsonian*. doi:10.4202/app.2009.0133. S2CID 53369219. Retrieved June 6, 2021.**
* Rothschild, B., Tanke, D. H., and Ford, T. L., 2001, Theropod stress fractures and tendon avulsions as a clue to activity: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 331-336.
* Owocki, Krzysztof; Kremer, Barbara; Cotte, Martin; Bocherens, Hervé (January 1, 2020). "Diet preferences and climate inferred from oxygen and carbon isotopes of tooth enamel of Tarbosaurus bataar (Nemegt Formation, Upper Cretaceous, Mongolia)". *Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology*. **537**: 109190. Bibcode:2020PPP...537j9190O. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.012. S2CID 182937778. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
* Therrien, Francois; Henderson, Donald M.; Ruff, Christopher B. (January 2005). "Bite me: Biomechanical models of theropod mandibles and implications for feeding behavior". In Kenneth Carpenter (ed.). *The Carnivorous Dinosaurs*. Indiana University Press. pp. 179–237. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
* Saveliev, Sergei V.; Alifanov, Vladimir R. (2005). "A new study of the brain of the predatory dinosaur *Tarbosaurus bataar* (Theropoda, Tyrannosauridae)". *Paleontological Journal*. **41** (3): 281–289. doi:10.1134/S0031030107030070. S2CID 53529148.
* Tsuihiji, Takanobu; Watabe, Mahito; Tsogtbaatar, Khishigjav; Tsubamoto, Takehisa; Barsbold, Rinchen; Suzuki, Shigeru; Lee, Andrew H; Ridgely, Ryan C; Kawahara, Yasuhiro; Witmer, Lawrence M (May 16, 2011). "Tiny Tarbosaurus Shows How Tyrants Grew Up | Science | Smithsonian". *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*. **31** (3): 497–517. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.557116. S2CID 15369707. Retrieved June 6, 2017.

Written by **Kangalia**