ExtinctZoo - The T. Rex’s Brutal Asian Older Brother

Episode Date: May 6, 2024

During the Late Cretaceous, a giant Tyrannosaur lumbers about looking for its next victim. It has one of the most powerful bites ever seen and outsizes nearly every predator be it on land or in the water, sounds a lot like the T. rex right? Wrong! This is Tarbosaurus!

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and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavat Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Approximately 70 million years ago, during the Lake Cretaceous, Asia was filled with a vast array of dinosaurs, many of which you could find lookalikes for in North America. And you could even find a partial lookalike for the Tyrannosaurus rex, as these ancient lands had their very own Tyrannosaurus species. At the time, it had no name, but today we know this theropod to be, Tarbosaurus.

This ferocious theropod was unearthed in the expanse of Goeby Deserts by a Soviet dig team, which stumbled upon a large skull and vertebrae. The skull was eerily similar to that of the T-Rex, and therefore the Soviets believed that they had discovered their very own Tyrannosaurus, which they dubbed Tyrannosaurus-Batar, the latter portion, meaning hero. At the same time, the discovery also led to the retrieval of three other theropods, which all differed in size, resulting in the creation of two new gorgasaurus species and a separate brand-new genus for the largest skeleton which they named Tarbosaurus, meaning the alarming lizard. So while the Soviet paleontologists were right in the fact that they had found a new genus,

they had made some mistakes in their classification. As a decade later, a subsequent analysis would find that every theropod discovered during that excursion actually all belonged to just one genus and species. This genus was of course the new genus named before, Tarbosaurus. And thus the idea that they had found a new Tyrannosaurus or Gorgosaurus was discarded. Regardless though, the Tarbosaurus was still undeniably a Tyrannosaur, possessing many features seen in its relatives, including an S-shaped neck, proportionally tiny hands, and fused parietal bones.

And of all of its relatives, it most resembled its American counterpart, the Tyrannosaurus, with whom it shared similar body proportions and a nearly identical endocrineal structure, both also possessing lichen skulls and teeth. Although the two still had their differences, with the Tyrannosaurus having a much wider skull and body, as well as having larger hands proportionally, with Tarbosaurus actually possessing the smallest hands of any known Tyrannosaur relative to its body size. These differences still didn't divide the two by much, and Paleontologists currently believe that the Tyrannosaurus and Tarbosaurus were Sister Taxa, meaning that they were each other's

closest relatives within the Tyrannosaurida family. This sister group is known as the Tyrannosorini, and includes a third member, the Zoo Chain Tyrannus, which was the smallest and oldest of the three, residing like the Tarbosaurus within Asia. Because of their strong connection, it was once thought by some that the Tarbosaurus gave rise to the Tyrannosaurus rex, with the hypothesis that some individuals successfully crossed the Bering Strait while it was connected. However, this idea is now considered wrong, as older Tyrannosaurus are now known from North America, which may have evolved into the T-Rex, such as the Dasplidasaurus. On top of this, we know thanks to a very recent study that there was an older Tyrannosaurus species as well,

the Macrancis, that predated the Tarbosaurus, casting more doubt on the idea of it being the Tyrant King's forefather. But the study did still find them to be Sister Taxon, which in some ways has overshadowed the Tarbosaurus's reputation. as the T-Rex has rendered it not even being the biggest member within its own clade, despite being the second-largest Tyrannosaur of the 13-known genera. Naturally, to be the second largest, adult tarbosaurs were extremely large, with the average adult measuring 10 meters or 33 feet long, while standing 3 meters or 9.8 feet tall at the hips. And thanks to its robust skeletal structure and ample muscles,

the tarbosaurus was also extraordinarily heavy, tipping the scales at over 5. tons, tying it in 13th place for the heaviest theropod ever, along with Sukumimus and Therazenosaurus. To put this into scale, you would need roughly five average-sized giraffes to equal the weight of one Tarbosaurus. And large specimens show that this nightmare didn't stop here, as one giant's goal, which was 1.35 meters or 4.4 feet long, is thought to have belonged to an adult that reached 39 feet or 12 meters from snout to tail, making it just as long as the Tyrannosaurus T-Rex-Makrensus, nearly identical to the T-Rex in length, though it was still lighter and shorter in height. Despite this, its slight size inferiority to the T-Rex had no impact on the T-Rbosaurus, as in its homeland it was still the largest predator around by a long shot,

helping to secure its place as the most dominant apex predator, a position that was only strengthened by its Titanic jaw and bite. In true Tyrannosaur fashion, the Taurbosaurus possessed a giant, heavily-built skull, that It was covered in an unusual amount of large muscles, as it had a large finestra or opening that served as an attachment point for muscles. This gave Tarbosaurus an immensely powerful bite that's been estimated at 10,000 pounds per square inch, rendering it more forceful than the bite of certain larger theropods like Giganotosaurus, plus any living animal today. This was seriously unfortunate news for any herbivore in its environment, made worse by

the fact that the Tarbosaurus was by no means toothless. with adults possessing between 58 and 64 giant teeth within their mouths, that were all more serrated than the teeth of even the T-Rex. These lethal teeth, coupled with its power, led the Tarbosaurus to being a walking hydraulic press that easily crushed and tore through any victim's flesh and bones, removing huge amounts of meat with each bite, rapidly leading to catastrophic blood loss and shock. Naturally, such terrifying power and size all led to Tarbosaurus to being a butcher of giants, with isotope analysis finding that it had a preference for hadrosaurs,

Enkylosaurus, and Titanosaurs, some of which, like the sorolophis and nematosaurus, were bigger than even itself. This analysis has been backed by direct evidence as well, with all mentioned prey having been found with severe bite marks that matched those of the tarbosaurus. Fossor remains have also shown the other large dinosaurs in the area were not exempt from the menu either, including giant therapy. But I'm not talking about other tarbosaurus, rather the cumbersome Dinochiris. This was a giant or nithymimosaur that was surprisingly larger than the tarbosaurus, weighing anywhere

from 6 to over 7 tons. Sadly for it, size was not a foolproof deterrence as one recovered specimen displayed, as numerous parts of the body had been punctured and gouged with such ferociousness that the animal had been essentially disemboweled. The attack was still chaotic that when the specimen was first discovered, it remained a mystery for quite some time on why its remains were so scattered and damaged. Another theropod that may have been a food item as well, was the Therazenosaurus. This was a slightly smaller, yet still giant, theropod that weighed about five tons at its

max, while also possessing the largest known claws of any animal, either extinct or extant. As of yet, no remains of it have shown predation by the Tarbosaurus. though this may very well change. And it still goes without question that Tarbosaurus was a giant slayer, with some even thinking that one of its unique traits was an adaptation purely designed for going after the biggest land animals ever, the Titanosaurs. Specifically, its skull, along with being robust and roped with muscles, was also extremely rigid, with its mandible in particular being much sturdier and more inflexible than what is

seen in other Tyrannosaurus. This rigidity is thought to have played a big role in taking down the same. saropods as it helped the tarbosaurus maintain a tight grip when biting down and created a unique interlocking mechanism only seen in the tarbosaurus that further made escape impossible for saropods an escape was also off the table when it came to speed with preliminary studies finding the tarbosaurus capable of max speeds of 25 miles per hour or 40 kilometers an hour which is about as fast as an african bush elephant this may not seem like much but it was plenty enough to catch saropods and large hadrosaurus. They were both heavier and slower.

The tarbosaurus was undoubtedly a masterclass hunter, which could still be quite messy, but it also did have pinpoint precision, highlighted by its remarkable ability to scavenge when the chance arose, with various remains showing meticulous, yet enormous bites around certain bones, indicating the tarbosaurus could expertly strip the flesh from any carcass laying around, a nifty tool in any situation. And the talents of tarbosaurus, by no means ended here, as this Tyrannosaur had a wide range of attuned senses that aided it throughout its entire life. With one of these senses being its smell. The tarbosaurus had one powerful nose, which we know about thanks to a brain endicast.

They revealed a huge olfactory bulb and nerves. Traits typically only seen in animals with a keen sense of smell. This attribute let hunting tarbosaurs easily track down prey and pick up the scent of already deceased dinosaurs. It's also been hypothesized that its pinpoint smelling lend itself in complex mating behaviors, because within its olfactory system, there was a large Jacobson organ, an important organ in tetrapods that detect pheromones. Due to its sheer size, the tarbosaurus could probably pick up on all kinds of pheromones with ease, thus helping an individual find a potential mate. And we know that this overall potent smelling ability was a big part of a tarbosaurus's life,

playing a larger role in hunting and socializing than even vision did, as the areas of its brain associated with eyesight were underdeveloped, suggesting it wasn't the best. Additionally, unlike North American Tyrannosaurus, the Asian ones, had narrower skulls where the eyes were primarily facing sideways as opposed to straightforward, meaning that tarbosaurus did not have binocular vision, but it did redeem itself with its one-of-a-kind hearing capabilities. Similar to its olfactory system, its auditory nerve was proportionally huge, suggesting a good ability

to hone in on the sounds of prey. The presence of good hearing likely further means that its balance and coordination was above average, a key trait when tackling huge dinosaurs that ultimately had more power in their movements, meaning that battles with them involved a lot of tugging and thrashing. For these scuffles, the tarbosaurs had another little trick too, its skin. Unfortunately enough, paleontologists are aware of what the tarbosaurus skin was like thanks to skin impressions, which showed that certain areas of the body were covered in scales, which added a degree of protection.

So far, a footprint and thoracic fragment has confirmed that the feet and chest were scaly. It's not yet assured that the rest of the body bore such scales, though we do know from other Tyrannosauridae that scales were found in multiple areas throughout the entire body. In the Tarbosaurus's case, these scales varied in size. the bigger scales measuring 2 centimeters or 0.7 inches in width, which is about the same as the dimensions of a dime. These scales did not overlap in life, and would have helped to prevent superficial damage like scrapes and cuts, which could potentially turn into infections. This is perhaps best showcased by the lack of tarbosaurus remains that bore infection-related damage,

with the only known damaged tarbosaurus bone coming from an isolated hand that was fractured during a struggle with prey, proving once more that this was by no means a lazy scavenger, and rather a highly active predator that efficiently turned its ecosystem into its very own dominion. And this domain spread far and wide, with remains being found within the Gobi Desert and present-day Eastern China. Of all its known habitats, the Nemeck formation is by far the best-studied one, and is where Tarbosaurus was most concentrated. This formation is today a dry desert, But during the Tarbosaurus' heyday, it was in many ways in an oasis, where the climate was warm and humid, and the lands were split and broken up by large rivers, shallow lakes, and mudflats,

all of which supplied life to expansive marshes and conifer-dominated forests. This in turn, of course, allowed for the presence of a lot of dinosaurs, which along with the previously mentioned ones included Tarkia, bars boldia, homolecephaly, prenocephaly, opistococcalia, Mononikus, Adosaurus, Gallomimus, and Saramimus, Avimimus, Conco Raptor, Gobiraptor, Gobiacobia, Zanabasar, and Borogovia. Interestingly enough, there were also plenty of other Tyrannosauridae around two, such as the Bagaratan, Raptorex, and Allio Ramos. Fortunately, for the Tarbosaurus, none of these theropods were a major threat,

with all of them being considerably smaller, with Alyoramas being the closest challenger at roughly one ton. Still, these guys may have been a threat to younger tarbosaurus who targeted smaller prey in their adolescence, thus creating some competition. What the adults did have to worry about, though, was the environment itself. While its homeland was lush for most of the year, sediment deposits revealed that this oasis had a sinister secret. Droughts. Occasionally, like what is seen in the famous morris information, droughts would take place in these ancient lands, drying out water sources, and creating large dunes. During such times, loss of life was inevitable, and every Tarbosaurus' senses were put to the ultimate test.

Fights and competitions also likely skyrocketed during these droughts, with only the toughest making it out. Yet, at some point, not even the biggest and baddest Tardosaurus prevailed, as fossils are only known from the Maastrichtian age 70 million years ago. No one knows what exactly happened to this iconic theropod. Though as mentioned, some think it went on to evolve into a new Tyrannosaur. While others prefer the idea that climate change... Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals,

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