Nanotyrannus
| Nanotyrannus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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| Holotype skull | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Tyrannosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Tyrannosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Nanotyrannus Bakker, Currie & Williams, 1988 |
| Species: | †N. lancensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Nanotyrannus lancensis Gilmore, 1946
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| Synonyms | |
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Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
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Nanotyrannus (meaning "dwarf tyrant") is a controversial genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur. It has long been argued that Nanotyrannus is nothing more than a juvenile of Tyrannosaurus or a similar genus.[1] The problem is that the very few skeletons found are all only fragmental.
Only two or three specimens are known. They are from the end of the Upper Cretaceous, 68 million years ago.
Some people/authorities think that juvenile T- Rex specimens had a different proportion of features like arms, which might have caused some confusion.
The first alleged specimen was found in Montana in 1942. It was thought to have been a Gorgosaurus, but it was reclassified in 1988. It was a bit smaller than a Gorgosaurus. Research has found that the Tyrannosaurids have grown to be robust and giant. Nanotyrannus has a similar body shape to a young Tyrannosaur. A fossil of a young T- Rex references those of Nanotyrannus.
- ↑ Currie P.J; Hurum, J.H; Sabath K. 2003. Skull structure and evolution in tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 48 (2): 227–234.
