SAUROPHAGANAX maximus

[AzurePhoenix]

Hey, i'm kind of a rookie-paleontology-buff, and i'd like to know if there is any validity to reports of two potentially new super-carnivores, Saurophaganax maximus, and Tyrannosaurus imperator.

 

 

Apparently Saurophagnax was a giant Allosaur offshoot, possibly even a big species of the Allosaur genus. If it's been decently described and documented, how big was it? I've heard fifteen meters.

If it hasn't been properly described, is it probably just a slightly large Allosaur whose size has been greatly over-exaggerated?

 

 

Secondly, regarding Tyrannosaurus imperator, i've found information stating that a new species of Tyrannosaurus has been discovered that was 20% larger than any T-rex yet found, making it the largest terrestrial carnivore ever discovered, even bigger than Giganotosaurus "carrolini?" or Charcharodontosaurus saharicus. I've also read that it was probably only a big T-rex, but no conclusions to its actual size were suggested. Does the theory of T.imperator hold any value? Or was the fossil most likely just a larger than average T-rex? And if it was, how big was it really? Just a little larger than average, or as big as the upper-end estimates suggest it may have been?

 

I'd really appreciate some information, and personal thoughts and opinions. Thanx

[Mokele]

Ok, my information is from Paul's Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, and so may be a bit dated, but it'll at least give you a starting point.

 

As for the large Allosaur, Paul classifies it as Allosaurus amplexus, with synonyms of Epanterias maximus and Saurophagus maximus. Apparently there was very little published on it at the time of Paul's book, 1988, but he lists 3 specimens, one in the American Museum of Natural History, 2 in the Museum of the University of Oklahoma. He says that the allosaur is the same size at T.rex, more robust, but less powerful. The size of the bones is apparently immense, as they were initially mistaken for brontosaur bones. No data about the length, height, etc was given, but the tonnage was estimated at 3-5.

 

As for the "Super Tyrannosaur", that stems from a single bone, a maxilla (upper jaw bone) that's obviously tyrannosaurid, but 29% larger than any T.rex described at the time of this book (Sue has since been discovered, so that may have changed). Noone knows if it's just a very big rex, or another species, since it's just one bone. The bone is at the U of California Museum of Paleontology. Paul gives size estimates of over 50 feet long and 23 feet tall, and as much as 12 tons. Theories that it's just a big rex are based on that fact that many of the current large T rex fossils do not have complete fusion of the skull bones, indicating that they may not represent the true adult size of the species. However, well, it's hard to tell stuff from just one bone.

 

As I said, this is all dated info, so stuff may have changed, but it should at least give you a starting point.

 

Mokele

[AzurePhoenix]

I am thoroughly grateful