Unranked clade

Valid Extinct

Daspletosaurini

Voris et al. 2020

Daspletosaurini is an extinct clade (tribe) of tyrannosaurine dinosaurs that lived in Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous period. It consists of two genera: Daspletosaurus and Thanatotheristes. Four species have been described in the two genera, namely Daspletosaurus torosus, Daspletosaurus horneri, Daspletosaurus wilsoni, and Thanatotheristes degrootorum. At one point all of them were assigned as specimens of D. torosus, but several papers since 2017 have found them to represent distinct species. Some researchers found anagenesis in the group, whether contained in a daspletosaurin clade or paraphyletic in respect to the lineage of tyrannosaurines leading up to Tyrannosaurus, but a 2023 study refuted this theory on the basis of morphological and stratigraphical data.

Temporal range

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

Paleogene

Neogene

252 201 145 66 0 Ma

PBDB occurrences

Group

Dinosaures

Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial

click to enlarge

"Daspletosaurus torosus" skeleton cast, reconstructed and mounted by Triebold Paleontology based on a nearly complete specimen from Montana's Judith River Formation © MCDinosaurhunter · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗

Classification

Dinosauria Unranked clade

›

Theropoda Unranked clade

›

Neotheropoda Unranked clade

›

Averostra Unranked clade

›

Tetanurae Unranked clade

›

Coelurosauria Unranked clade

›

Tyrannosauroidea Superfamily

›

Tyrannosauridae Family

›

Tyrannosaurinae Subfamily

›

Daspletosaurini Unranked clade

Fossil sites 23 geolocated sites

Distribution

Top countries

🇨🇦 Canada

🇺🇸 United States

Geological formations

Two Medicine

Oldman

Dinosaur Park

Foremost

Mesaverde

Judith River

Kirtland

Ojo Alamo

Temporal distribution

Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)

Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)

Images 1

Bibliography

Original description

J. T. Voris, F. Therrien, and D. K. Zelenitsky, C. M. Brown. 2020. A new tyrannosaurine (Theropoda:Tyrannosauridae) from the Campanian Foremost Formation of Alberta, Canada, provides insight into the evolution and biogeography of tyrannosaurids. Cretaceous Research 110:104388:1-15 DOI ↗

Bibliography (15)

C. C. Coppock, M. J. Powers, and J. T. Voris, P. J. Currie. 2025. First occurrence of Daspletosaurus horneri (Tyrannosauridae, Tyrannosaurinae) in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta (Treaty 7 Territory). Historical Biology DOI ↗

C. C. Coppock, M. J. Powers, and J. T. Voris, H. S. Sharpe, P. J. Currie. 2024. Immature Daspletosaurus sp. specimens from the Dinosaur Park Formation provide insight into ontogenetically invariant tyrannosaurid cranial morphology. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 61(12):1227-1239 DOI ↗

E. A. Warshaw and D. W. Fowler. 2022. A transitional species of Daspletosaurus Russell, 1970 from the Judith River Formation of eastern Montana. PeerJ 10:e14461 DOI ↗

G. F. Funston, M. J. Powers, and S. A. Whitebone, S. L. Brusatte, J. B. Scannella, J. R. Horner, P. J. Currie. 2021. Baby tyrannosaurid bones and teeth from the Late Cretaceous of western North America 1. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 58(9):756–777 DOI ↗

A. L. Titus, K. Knoll, and J. J. W. Sertich, D. Yamamura, C. A. Suarez, I. J. Glasspool, J. E. Ginouves, A. K. Lukacic, E. M. Roberts. 2021. Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness. PeerJ 9:e11013:1-50 DOI ↗

C.-g. Yun. 2020. A subadult frontal of Daspletosaurus torosus (Theropoda: Tyrannosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada with implications for tyrannosaurid ontogeny and taxonomy. Palarch’s Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 17(2):1-13

T. D. Carr, D. J. Varricchio, and J. C. Sedlmayr, E. M. Roberts, J. R. Moore. 2017. A new tyrannosaur with evidence for anagenesis and crocodile-like facial sensory system. Scientific Reports 7:44942:1-11 DOI ↗

M. T. Carrano. 2006. Fossil Vertebrate Collections, Museum of the Rockies

D. G. DeMar, Jr. and B. H. Breithaupt. 2006. The nonmammalian vertebrate microfossil assemblages of the Mesaverde Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian) of the Wind River and Bighorn Basins, Wyoming. Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35:33-54

D. W. Fowler and R. M. Sullivan. 2006. A ceratopsid pelvis with toothmarks from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation, New Mexico: evidence of Late Campanian tyrannosaurid feeding behavior. In: S. G. Lucas & R. M. Sullivan, Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35:127-130

P. J. Currie. 2005. History of research. Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Indiana University Press, Bloomington

R. M. Sullivan, S. G. Lucas, and D. R. Braman. 2005. Dinosaurs, pollen, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the San Juan Basin. New Mexico Geological Society, 56th Field Conference, Geology of the Chama Basin. New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook 56:395-407 DOI ↗

M. J. Ryan and A. P. Russell. 2001. Dinosaurs of Alberta (exclusive of Aves). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life

D. J. Varricchio. 2001. Gut contents from a Cretaceous tyrannosaurid: implications for theropod dinosaur digestive tracts. Journal of Paleontology 75(2):401-406 DOI ↗

Daspletosaurini

Signaler un problème