Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Tyrannosaurus (tyrant lizard)

Reptilia - Tyrannosauridae

Taxonomy
Tyrannosaurus was named by Osborn (1905). It is the type genus of Tyrannosauridae, Tyrannosauroidea. It was considered monophyletic by Currie (2000).

It was assigned to Theropoda by Osborn (1905); to Coeluridae by von Zittel (1911), Tornier (1913); to Megalosaurinidae by Huene (1909), Gilmore (1920), Piveteau (1923); to Aublysodontinae by Nopcsa (1928); to Theropoda by Parks (1935); to Carnosauria by Kuhn (1939); to Pachypodosauria by Huene (1958); to Deinodontidae by Brown (1914), Lull (1924), Russell (1930), Gilmore (1933), Stromer (1934), Gilmore (1946), Tatarinov (1964); to Theropoda by Joleaud (1922), Ostrom (1965); to Dinodontidae by Huene (1926), Huene (1927), Huene (1929), Huene (1959), Swinton (1970); to Tyrannosauroidea by Zhao (1983); to Tyrannosaurinae by Matthew and Brown (1922), Hay (1930), Paul (1988), Holtz (1997), Sereno (1998), Currie (2000), Holtz (2001), Currie (2003), Currie et al. (2003), Holtz (2004), Erickson et al. (2004), Carr et al. (2005), Carr et al. (2011), Averianov et al. (2012), Carr et al. (2017); to Tyrannosauridae by Romer (1956), Parsch (1963), Estes (1964), Walker (1964), Romer (1966), Charig (1967), Steel (1970), Russell (1970), Kurzanov (1976), Lawson (1976), Bonaparte (1978), Molnar (1978), Madsen and Miller (1979), Dong (1979), Molnar (1980), McIntosh (1981), Rage (1981), Barsbold (1983), Thulborn (1984), Russell (1984), Breithaupt (1985), Clemens (1986), Gillette et al. (1986), Gauthier (1986), Carroll (1988), Mader and Bradley (1989), Kurzanov (1989), Molnar et al. (1990), Bonaparte et al. (1990), Weishampel et al. (1991), Molnar (1991), Buffetaut (1992), Currie (1992), Carpenter (1992), Currie and Zhao (1994), Buffetaut et al. (1996), Carpenter (1997), Barsbold (1997), Ryan (1997), Eberth (1997), Holtz (1998), Zinke (1998), Knoll et al. (1999), Carr (1999), Eberth et al. (2001), Currie et al. (2003), Rauhut (2003), Carr and Williamson (2004), Urban and Lamanna (2006), Smith (2007), Saveliev and Alifanov (2007), Lü (2008), Li et al. (2009), Dalman (2013), Lü et al. (2014), Hendrickx and Mateus (2014), White et al. (2015), Smith et al. (2016), Brougham et al. (2019); and to Tyrannosaurini by Rivera-Sylva and Longrich (2024), Scherer and Voiculescu-Holvad (2024).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1892Manospondylus Cope p. 757
1902Manospondylus Hay p. 500
1905Dynamosaurus Osborn pp. 259, 263
1905Tyrannosaurus Osborn p. 259 fig. 1
1907Manospondylus Hatcher et al. p. 114
1909Manospondylus Huene p. 15
1909Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 15
1911Tyrannosaurus von Zittel p. 281
1913Tyrannosaurus Tornier p. 368
1914Tyrannosaurus Brown p. 377
1920Tyrannosaurus Gilmore p. 121
1922Tyrannosaurus Joleaud p. 60
1922Tyrannosaurus Matthew and Brown p. 378
1923Tyrannosaurus Piveteau p. 6
1924Tyrannosaurus Lull p. 231
1924Dynamosaurus Osborn pp. 259, 263
1926Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 101
1927Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 260
1928Tyrannosaurus Nopcsa p. 183
1929Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 270
1930Tyrannosaurus Hay p. 179
1930Manospondylus Hay p. 183
1930Tyrannosaurus Russell p. 140
1933Tyrannosaurus Gilmore p. 33
1934Tyrannosaurus Stromer p. 80
1935Tyrannosaurus Parks p. 195
1939Manospondylus Kuhn p. 81
1939Tyrannosaurus Kuhn p. 82
1946Tyrannosaurus Gilmore pp. 16-17
1955Tyrannosauripus Lessertisseur
1956Tyrannosaurus Romer p. 616
1958Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 205
1959Tyrannosaurus Huene p. 122
1963Tyrannosaurus Parsch p. 6
1964Tyrannosaurus Estes p. 144
1964Manospondylus Kuhn p. 23
1964Tyrannosaurus Tatarinov p. 539
1964Tyrannosaurus Walker p. 128
1965Tyrannosaurus Ostrom p. 39
1966Tyrannosaurus Romer p. 369
1967Tyrannosaurus Charig p. 714
1970Tyrannosaurus Russell p. 18
1970Tyrannosaurus Steel p. 42
1970Tyrannosaurus Swinton p. 151
1976Tyrannosaurus Kurzanov
1976Tyrannosaurus Lawson p. 159
1978Tyrannosaurus Bonaparte p. 324
1978Tyrannosaurus Molnar p. 76
1978Tyrannosaurus turpanensis Zhai et al. p. 78
1979Tyrannosaurus Dong p. 347
1979Tyrannosaurus Madsen and Miller p. 5
1980Tyrannosaurus Molnar p. 102
1981Tyrannosaurus McIntosh p. 8
1981Tyrannosaurus Rage p. 68
1983Tyrannosaurus Barsbold p. 95
1983Tyrannosaurus turpanensis Chen p. 141
1983Tyrannosaurus Zhao p. 304
1984Dynamosaurus Russell p. 27
1984Tyrannosaurus Russell p. 27
1984Tyrannosaurus Thulborn p. 133
1985Tyrannosaurus Breithaupt p. 169
1986Tyrannosaurus Clemens p. 79
1986Tyrannosaurus Gauthier p. 9
1986Tyrannosaurus Gillette et al. p. 235
1986Tyrannosaurus turopanensis Guan p. 35
1988Nanotyrannus Bakker et al.
1988Tyrannosaurus Carroll
1988Tyrannosaurus Paul p. 337
1989Tyrannosaurus Kurzanov p. 5
1989Tyrannosaurus Mader and Bradley p. 43
1990Tyrannosaurus Bonaparte et al. pp. 34-35
1990Nanotyrannus Molnar et al. p. 190
1990Tyrannosaurus Molnar et al. p. 190
1991Tyrannosaurus Molnar p. 166
1991Tyrannosaurus Weishampel et al. p. 209
1992Tyrannosaurus Buffetaut p. 135 fig. 2
1992Tyrannosaurus Carpenter pp. 253-4
1992Nannotyrannus Currie p. 242
1992Tyrannosaurus Currie p. 242
1994Tyrannosaurus Currie and Zhao p. 2080
1995Dinotyrannus Olshevsky
1995Stygivenator Olshevsky
1996Tyrannosaurus Buffetaut et al. p. 690
1997Tyrannosaurus Barsbold p. 448
1997Tyrannosaurus Carpenter p. 766
1997Tyrannosaurus Eberth p. 202
1997Tyrannosaurus Holtz, Jr. p. 53A
1997Tyrannosaurus Ryan p. 391
1998Tyrannosaurus Holtz, Jr. p. 41
1998Tyrannosaurus Sereno p. 65
1998Nanotyrannus Sereno p. 74 fig. 9
1998Tyrannosaurus Zinke p. 184
1999Tyrannosaurus Carr pp. 498-499
1999Tyrannosaurus Knoll et al. pp. 106-107
2000Tyrannosaurus Currie p. 449
2000Stygivenator Olshevsky p. 154
2000Dinotyrannus Olshevsky p. 156
2001Tyrannosaurus Eberth et al. p. 66
2001Tyrannosaurus Holtz, Jr. pp. 70-71 fig. 7.2
2003Nanotyrannus Currie p. 663
2003Tyrannosaurus Currie p. 663
2003Tyrannosaurus Currie et al. p. 10
2003Nanotyrannus Currie et al. p. 230 fig. 2
2003Tyrannosaurus Currie et al. p. 230 fig. 2
2003Tyrannosaurus Rauhut p. 43
2004Tyrannosaurus Carr and Williamson p. 481
2004Tyrannosaurus Erickson et al. p. 773
2004Nanotyrannus Holtz, Jr. p. 113
2004Tyrannosaurus Holtz, Jr. p. 113
2005Tyrannosaurus Carr et al. p. 140 fig. 21
2006Tyrannosaurus Urban and Lamanna p. 234
2007Tyrannosaurus Saveliev and Alifanov pp. 281-282
2007Tyrannosaurus Smith p. 104
2008Tyrannosaurus Lü p. 51
2009Tyrannosaurus Li et al.
2011Tyrannosaurus Carr et al.
2012Tyrannosaurus Averianov et al. p. 145
2013Tyrannosaurus Dalman p. 244
2014Tyrannosaurus Hendrickx and Mateus
2014Tyrannosaurus Lü et al.
2015Tyrannosaurus White et al. p. 3
2016Nanotyrannus Smith et al. p. 3
2016Tyrannosaurus Smith et al. p. 3
2017Tyrannosaurus Carr et al. p. 9s
2019Tyrannosaurus Brougham et al. p. 14
2024Nanotyrannus Rivera-Sylva and Longrich p. 261
2024Tyrannosaurus Rivera-Sylva and Longrich p. 261
2024Tyrannosaurus Scherer and Voiculescu-Holvad

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
RankNameAuthor
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Theropoda()
—Neotheropoda
—AverostraPaul 2002
—Tetanurae
—Coelurosauria()
superfamilyTyrannosauroidea
familyTyrannosauridae
subfamilyTyrannosaurinae
tribeTyrannosauriniOlshevsky et al. 1995
genusTyrannosaurus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Tyrannosaurus Osborn 1905 [tyrant lizard]
show all | hide all
†Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis Dalman et al. 2024
†Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn 1905 [tyrant lizard king]
hide
Invalid names: Albertosaurus megagracilis Paul 1988 [synonym], Aublysodon molnaris Paul 1988 [synonym], Dynamosaurus imperiosus Osborn 1905 [synonym], Manospondylus gigas Cope 1892 [synonym], Nanotyrannus lancensis Gilmore 1946 [synonym], Tyrannosaurus imperator Paul et al. 2022 [synonym], Tyrannosaurus regina Paul et al. 2022 [synonym]
Invalid names: Dinotyrannus Olshevsky 1995 [synonym], Dynamosaurus Osborn 1905 [synonym], Manospondylus Cope 1892 [synonym], Nanotyrannus Bakker et al. 1988 [synonym], Stygivenator Olshevsky 1995 [synonym], Tyrannosauripus Lessertisseur 1955 [nomen nudum], Tyrannosaurus turpanensis Zhai et al. 1978 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
H. F. Osborn 1905 (Dynamosaurus)Carnivorous dinosaurs with twelve to fifteen mandibular teeth of rounded to flattened form. Anterior truncate teeth reduced or wanting. Irregular bony plates developed on the back or sides of the body. Alveolar partitions between the mandibular teeth extending upward into triangular plates on the inner sides of the jaws above the borders of dentaries.
K. Carpenter 1992(Cranial) Viewed dorsally, muzzle well-differentiated from cranium so that stereoscopic vision well-developed; descending process of postorbital extends into orbit; premaxillary contacts nasal below external nares and medial to maxilla (not visible in lateral profile); lacrymal horn not developed, but is rugose, as is the dorsal part of the postorbital; pro-maxillary fenestra not visible when the skull is viewed in lateral profile; prefrontal forms a wedge between lacrymal and fused frontals; ectopterygoids are swollen and have a very large sinus opening. (Postcranial) Ilium with a well developed notch along the front margin of the preacetabular blade; postacetabular blade of ilium slender; wrist composed of a single element; pubic shaft has a pronounced curve.