TY - JOUR
T1 - Tyrannosaur Paleobiology: New Research on Ancient Exemplar Organisms
AU - Brusatte, S.L.
AU - Norell, M.A.
AU - Carr, T.D.
AU - Erickson, G.M.
AU - Hutchinson, J.R.
AU - Balanoff, A.M.
AU - Bever, G.S.
AU - Choiniere, J.N.
AU - Makovicky, P.J.
AU - Xu, X.
N1 - MEDLINE® is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.
PY - 2010/9/17
Y1 - 2010/9/17
N2 - Tyrannosaurs, the group of dinosaurian carnivores that includes Tyrannosaurus rex and its closest relatives, are icons of prehistory. They are also the most intensively studied extinct dinosaurs, and thanks to large sample sizes and an influx of new discoveries, have become ancient exemplar organisms used to study many themes in vertebrate paleontology. A phylogeny that includes recently described species shows that tyrannosaurs originated by the Middle Jurassic but remained mostly small and ecologically marginal until the latest Cretaceous. Anatomical, biomechanical, and histological studies of T. rex and other derived tyrannosaurs show that large tyrannosaurs could not run rapidly, were capable of crushing bite forces, had accelerated growth rates and keen senses, and underwent pronounced changes during ontogeny. The biology and evolutionary history of tyrannosaurs provide a foundation for comparison with other dinosaurs and living organisms.
AB - Tyrannosaurs, the group of dinosaurian carnivores that includes Tyrannosaurus rex and its closest relatives, are icons of prehistory. They are also the most intensively studied extinct dinosaurs, and thanks to large sample sizes and an influx of new discoveries, have become ancient exemplar organisms used to study many themes in vertebrate paleontology. A phylogeny that includes recently described species shows that tyrannosaurs originated by the Middle Jurassic but remained mostly small and ecologically marginal until the latest Cretaceous. Anatomical, biomechanical, and histological studies of T. rex and other derived tyrannosaurs show that large tyrannosaurs could not run rapidly, were capable of crushing bite forces, had accelerated growth rates and keen senses, and underwent pronounced changes during ontogeny. The biology and evolutionary history of tyrannosaurs provide a foundation for comparison with other dinosaurs and living organisms.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=yv4JPVwI&eid=2-s2.0-77956703904&md5=8cbca64886aa4856816cc8987b0eab44
U2 - 10.1126/science.1193304
DO - 10.1126/science.1193304
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77956703904
VL - 329
SP - 1481
EP - 1485
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5998
ER -