Timeline of tyrannosaur research

Although formally trained scientists did not begin to study tyrannosaur fossils until the mid-19th century, these remains may have been discovered by Native Americans and interpreted through a mythological lens.

[6] Later in the century, Cope's hated rival Othniel Charles Marsh would discover that the name Laelaps had already been given to a parasitic mite, and would rename the dinosaur Dryptosaurus.

[7] Early in the 20th century, Tyrannosaurus itself was discovered by Barnum Brown and named by Henry Fairfield Osborn, who would recognize it as a representative of a distinct family of dinosaurs he called the Tyrannosauridae.

This view continued to be advocated into the 1990s by Jack Horner but was shown false by Kenneth Carpenter, who reported the discovery of a partially healed tyrannosaur bite wound on an Edmontosaurus annectens tail vertebra, proving that T. rex at least sometimes pursued living victims.

[28] Holtz also noted that the lack of serrations on aublyodontines' premaxillary teeth could have been caused by tooth wear in life, postmortem abrasion, or digestion.

[10] The results of his phylogenetic analysis of the Tyrannosauridae are reproduced below: Tarbosaurus bataar Tyrannosaurus rex Daspletosaurus torosus Daspletosaurus horneri Gorgosaurus libratus Albertosaurus sarcophagus Shanshanosaurus Alioramus remotus Aublysodon molnari Bistahieversor sealeyi Alectrosaurus olseni Siamotyrannus isanensis Tyrannosaurus bataar Tyrannosaurus rex Daspletosaurus torosus Daspletosaurus horneri Albertosaurus sarcophagus Gorgosaurus libratus Alioramus remotus Aublysodon molnari Bistahieversor sealeyi Alectrosaurus olseni 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Proceratosaurus bradleyi Kileskus aristotocus Guanlong wucaii Sinotyrannus kazuoensis Juratyrant langhami Stokesosaurus clevelandi Dilong paradoxus Eotyrannus lengi Bagaraatan ostromi Raptorex kriegsteini Dryptosaurus aquilunguis Alectrosaurus olseni Xiongguanlong baimoensis Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis Alioramus altai Alioramus remotus Tyrannosauridae 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Skeletal mount of the Tyrannosaurus holotype.
Bones of Dryptosaurus , originally known as Laelaps .
Illustration of the teeth of Deinodon .
Inaccurate reconstructions of " Laelaps aquilunguis " and Elasmosaurus (1869).
Illustration of the type specimen (AMNH 3982) of Manospondylus gigas
Leaping Laelaps by Charles R. Knight , 1896.
Skeletal reconstruction of T. rex from the original description.
Skeleton of Gorgosaurus libratus .
Type specimen of Gorgosaurus sternbergi , now recognized as a juvenile Gorgosaurus libratus .
Foot of Alectrosaurus olseni .
Holotype skull of " Gorgosaurus " (now Nanotyrannus ) lancensis .
Holotype skull of Tarbosaurus bataar PIN 551-1, Museum of Paleontology, Moscow .
Artist's restoration of Daspletosaurus torosus .
Skeletal mount of Alioramus remotus .
A juvenile Tarbosaurus .
Holotype skull of Nanotyrannus lancensis .
Tyrannosaurs had long been classified with carnosaurs like Allosaurus (pictured). In the 1990s, this consensus began to change.
Paleontologists like Abler studied tyrannosaur tooth biomechanics ( Tyrannosaurus teeth pictured) in the early 1990s.
Lockley and Hunt reported a possible T. rex footprint in 1994.
The known skeletal elements of Bagaraatan ostromi .
Skeletal mount of Santanaraptor placidus .
Edmontosaurus annectens tail vertebrae have been preserved with partially healed T. rex bite marks.
Known skeletal elements of Eotyrannus lengi .
Diagram of T. rex forelimb anatomy.
Jaws and teeth of Gorgosaurus .
Teeth of Aublysodon .
Skeletal mount of Appalachiosaurus .
Artist's restoration of Guanlong .
Artist's restoration of Xiongguanlong .
Artist's restoration of Yutyrannus .
Artist's restoration of Nanuqsaurus .
Artist's restoration of Moros intrepidus .