Tarbosaurus

## TarbosaurusAlarming Lizard

* Subashi Formation, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, west China ("*Shanshanosaurus*")
* Djadochta Formation, Gobi Desert, Mongolia (Indeterminate tyrannosaur remains)

### Temporal Range

70 million years ago, Maastrichtian Stage, Late Cretaceous Period (possibly around since 75 million years ago, Campanian Stage)

### Episodes

* Deserts (Segments 2 and 4)
* Badlands (Segment 2)

## Characteristics

### Diet

Carnivore

* **Skull Length** of 1.3 - 1.6 meters (4 feet, 4 inches - 5 feet, 3 inches)
* **Brain Volume** of 184 cubic centimeters (11.2 cubic inches)
* **Bite Force** of 4 - 5 tons (8,000 - 10,000 pounds)
* Shares a unique jaw-locking mechanism with *Alioramus*, a relative of *Qianzhousaurus*
* Has the smallest arms relative to body size of all tyrannosaurids

 **Main** Segments Gallery

MainSegmentsGallery

***“ Tarbosaurus. The equivalent in this desert of T. rex. They keep everyone else away. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Deserts*
***Tarbosaurus*** (Alarming Lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that served as the apex predator of the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia and the Subashi Formation in China, 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. Remains of a similar animal, an unidentified tyrannosaur from the Djadochta Formation in Mongolia, if proven to belong to *Tarbosaurus*, may indicate that it was around even earlier, 75 - 71 million years ago, during the Campanian Stage of the Late Cretaceous Period.

## Paleobiology

### Size and Physique

Similar to its North American relative *Tyrannosaurus rex*, *Tarbosaurus* is a heavily-built apex predator. However, it is not as robust as its more famous cousin, with a different brow shape and overall slimmer head. While it is slightly smaller and lighter, it is still a massive animal, one of the largest tyrannosaurs. The type specimen, *PIN 551–1*, measures approximately 10 meters (33 feet) long and 4.5 – 5 metric tons (5.0 – 5.5 short tons) in terms of weight, with a skull that is 1.3 meters (4 feet, 4 inches) long. Estimates account for the possibility of a 12-meter (40-foot) *Tarbosaurus* (which, based on the head-to-body proportions of the holotype specimen, may have had a skull that is 1.6 meters/5 feet, 3 inches in length), with one study calculating the brain of a *Tarbosaurus* that size being only around 184 cubic centimeters (11.2 cubic inches) in volume.

### Jaws and Dentition

Like *Tyrannosaurus*, *Tarbosaurus* has a large head capable of crushing bone with up to five tons (10,000 pounds) worth of bite force, with ridges, notches, and grooves that provide *Tarbosaurus* with a unique jaw-locking mechanism (only shared with *Alioramus*, a relative of *Qianzhousaurus*). This feature perhaps evolved as an adaptation for dealing with the sauropods that it coexisted with in Mongolia.

### Arms

As with all tyrannosaurs, *Tarbosaurus* has short arms with two curved claws. In fact, out of all known tyrannosaur species, *Tarbosaurus* has the smallest arms in proportion to its body size. However, the hands of *Tarbosaurus* bear stress fractures, damages formed by regular usage and not isolated, one-off events, providing evidence that these arms were not vestigial, having likely gained such stress fractures from contact with struggling prey.

### Prehistoric Planet's Depiction

*Main: *Tarbosaurus* on Prehistoric Planet*

Main: *Tarbosaurus* on Prehistoric Planet

Prehistoric Planet depicts *Tarbosaurus* with a spotted coat of yellows and browns and sparse, almost unnoticeable feathers. In a sense, its skin pattern shares a very faint resemblance with that of *Tyrannosaurus* on the show, indicating a connection between the two. As with the other tyrannosaurs featured on Prehistoric Planet, *Tarbosaurus* bears stripes on its snout (though in its case, they are very faint), and it's been theorized that this is a trait that they all inherited from their last common ancestor. While there is no confirmation of this being the case, Dr. Darren Naish, Prehistoric Planet's lead consultant, shared this fan theory, indicating a degree of support and plausibility for the idea. Even so, the design of *Tarbosaurus* underwent many revisions and modifications, not only to ensure the accuracy of its appearance, but also to depict the differences between it and *T. rex*, with every detail about the two closely-related but distinct animals subjected to extensive discussion.

*Tarbosaurus* also has what seems to be a throat pouch, based on interpretations of skin impressions found in 1997.

*Tarbosaurus* appears in the second segment of Deserts, where a family of four sleep around a sauropod carcass. When they are accidentally woken up by *Velociraptors*, the tyrannosaur pack decide to go elsewhere, leaving the carcass to scavengers flying overhead. A lone *Tarbosaurus* later appears in the fourth segment of Deserts, its intimidating presence disturbing a herd of *Barsboldia*, which make way for the tyrannosaur as it simply stoops down to drink water from the same oasis they gathered around. A pack of *Tarbosauruses* are shown living in a maze of canyons in the second segment of Badlands, their presence alone causing a herd of titanosaurs to panic, with one *Nemegtosaurus* falling off a low ledge and eventually being eaten by the three tyrannosaurs.

## Paleoecology

### Paleoenvironment

*Main: Nemegt Formation*

Main: Nemegt Formation

***“ Even though some animals are well-adapted to desert conditions, their survival is often on a knife edge, especially here in Asia, where, in the height of summer, temperatures soar above 60 degrees Celsius, and water evaporates in an instant. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Deserts*
*Tarbosaurus* lived 70 million years ago in the Nemegt Formation, an area that would one day become the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The formation shows evidence of a rich, humid environment with large river channels, tidal flats, and forests. However, the area is also known to have undergone periodic droughts, and there is precedence for arid regions much like the Gobi Desert today existing in Mongolia during those times, thus justifying the depiction of *Tarbosaurus* living in a vast desert environment.

Fragmentary remains of *Tarbosaurus* (originally described as a distinct genus called *Shanshanosaurus*) have also been found in the Subashi Formation in western China, an area that probably had conditions similar to those of the Nemegt Formation. Unidentified remains of a similar tyrannosaur which may or may not be *Tarbosaurus* were also found 75 - 71 million years ago in the Djadochta Formation (which underlies the Barun Goyot and Nemegt Formations), an arid environment of sand dunes with little freshwater save for a few oases, some of which can be temporary, like in the show.

### Paleofauna

*Tarbosaurus* is the largest known predator of the Nemegt Formation. Other hunters like velociraptorine dromaeosaurs (e.g. *Adasaurus*), troodontids (e.g. *Borogovia*, *Tochisaurus*, and *Zanabazar*), and the medium-sized tyrannosaur *Alioramus*, provide no competition against fully-grown individuals, while less-mature *Tarbosaurus* took up other lower niches in the area. *Tarbosaurus* lived alongside large herbivores like *Tarchia*, *Barsboldia*, *Deinocheirus*, *Therizinosaurus*, and some titanosaurs like *Nemegtosaurus*, *Opisthocoelicaudia*, and other, larger titanosaurs that may potentially rival *Argentinosaurus* in size.

*Tarbosaurus* would have also coexisted with smaller creatures like *Mononykus*, at least eight oviraptorosaurs, *Prenocephale*, and the medium-sized *Gallimimus*.

### Hunting Tactics and Feeding Preferences

While capable of bringing down prey with its powerful bone-crushing bite, *Tarbosaurus* is not averse to scavenging to conserve effort, as shown in Deserts when a group of *Tarbosauruses* are shown guarding a rotting sauropod carcass for themselves. True to their name, the mere presence of even one of these "Alarming Lizards" in the area is enough to cause even an entire herd of titanosaurs to panic, a fearsome reputation they use to their advantage.

### Social Habits

***“ Tarbosaurs. Asia's version of Tyrannosaurus rex. As the predators approach, panic spreads. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Badlands*
While one *Tarbosaurus* alone is a force to be reckoned with, as shown in both Deserts and Badlands, *Tarbosaurus* is capable of living in groups of 3 - 4 individuals, perhaps family members. However, Deserts also depicts a lone *Tarbosaurus*, either one living a solitary lifestyle, or simply one that temporarily ventured off from its pack.

### Avoidance of Risk

***“ Much like everyone else, the hunter is here just for water. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Deserts*
*Tarbosaurus* is also shown not getting into unnecessary conflict. In Deserts, a herd of *Barsboldia* make way for *Tarbosaurus* to avoid a possible attack, but the predator simply ignores them to take a drink of water. In Badlands, a group of *Tarbosaurus* drives a herd of sauropods traversing through a maze of canyons into a panic without actually launching an attack. This results in one *Nemegtosaurus* falling off a low ledge and dying in the process, allowing the *Tarbosauruses* to feed without having actually put themselves at risk in a physical fight.

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## Trivia

It is unknown how exactly dinosaurs drank water. Prehistoric Planet chose to depict various types of dinosaur drinking water in different ways, with theropods shown scooping up water with their lower jaws rather than lapping it with their tongues or sucking it up. In the fourth segment of Deserts, *Mononykus*, *Therizinosaurus*, and *Tarbosaurus* drink water in this manner, and *Tyrannosaurus* is later depicted doing the same in the second segment of Freshwater.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dong Zhiming (1977). "On the dinosaurian remains from Turpan, Xinjiang". *Vertebrata PalAsiatica* (in Chinese). **15**: 59–66.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *Tarbosaurus* Maleev, 1955b
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Molina-Pérez, R.; Larramendi, A. (2019). *Dinosaurs Facts and Figures: The Theropods and Other Dinosauriformes*. Princeton University Press. p. 267
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 A new study of the brain of the predatory dinosaur *Tarbosaurus bataar* (Theropoda, Tyrannosauridae)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bite me: Biomechanical models of theropod mandibles and implications for feeding behavior
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Giant theropod dinosaurs from Asia and North America: Skulls of *Tarbosaurus bataar* and *Tyrannosaurus rex* compared
7. ↑ A Computational Analysis of Limb and Body Dimensions in *Tyrannosaurus rex* with Implications for Locomotion, Ontogeny, and Growth

### Dr. Darren Naish

1. ↑ The snout stripes of the tyrannosaurs featured on Prehistoric Planet is likely a trait they inherited from their last common ancestor, serving as proof of their relationship.
2. ↑ A lot of decisions were made while designing both *Tarbosaurus* and *Tyrannosaurus rex*

### Dr. Kenneth Carpenter

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Carpenter K, Tanke D.H. & Skrepnick M.W. (2001), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life (Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-33907-3), p. 71.
2. ↑ 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.
3. ↑ Carpenter, K. (1997). "Tyrannosauridae". In Currie, P.J.; Padian, K. (eds.). *Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs*. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 766–768.
4. ↑ Carpenter, K. (1999). *Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs: A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction*. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. pp. 60–61.

### Dr. Thomas Holtz

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Holtz Dinosaur Genus Appendix
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2004). "Tyrannosauroidea". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (Second ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 124.