“The King of Hell Creek”
Binomial Tyrannosaurus rex · tie-RAN-oh-SORE-us rex
Late Cretaceous - 68-66 Ma
IllustrationTyrannosaurus rex fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 92 source-backed records currently shown. Western North America, with selected records from Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard, Frenchman, and related latest Cretaceous formations. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include Hell Creek Formation, Kirtland Formation, Ferris Fm.. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land carnivores of all time. It lived throughout what is now western North America, on the Late Cretaceous island continent known as Laramidia. Fossil Atlas maps selected records from formations such as Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard, Frenchman, Denver, and related units. T. rex was an apex predator and scavenger with a massive skull, deep jaws, and bone-crushing teeth. Its fossil record is unusually rich for a giant theropod, with skulls, isolated teeth, partial skeletons, and near-complete skeletons helping researchers study growth, bite mechanics, vision, and ecology. As with all Fossil Atlas maps, the pins show modern fossil discovery locations rather than a complete ancient habitat range.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured12.3 m · 40 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured3.7 m (12 ft) at the hip
Body mass
estimate8,400 kg · 18,500 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate27 km/h · 17 mph
Modelled, debated
Bite force
estimate12,800 lbf
Teeth
measured≈ 60
Brain : body (EQ)
estimate1.6
Encephalization quotient
T. rex was the apex predator of Laramidia for the final two million years of the Cretaceous. Its skull was built around generating enormous crushing force and its forward-facing eyes gave it depth perception sharper than most other dinosaurs. Whether it was primarily an active hunter or an opportunistic scavenger has been debated for over a century. The weight of current evidence points to both, with T. rex capable of pursuing and killing large prey while also taking advantage of carcasses.
The bite
Deeply rooted, banana-shaped teeth and massive jaw muscles capable of crushing bone. Biomechanical estimates put its bite force among the highest of any land animal.
Vision
Forward-facing orbits gave T. rex stereoscopic vision comparable to modern raptors, useful for judging distance when pursuing or ambushing prey.
Forelimbs
Short and muscular rather than vestigial. Their exact function, whether gripping prey, supporting the animal while rising from rest, or something else, is still discussed.
Speed
Top speed estimates range widely depending on method. Fossil Atlas treats all running speed figures for T. rex as modeled approximations subject to revision.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
68-66 million years ago
T. rex had one of the strongest estimated bite forces of any land animal, often modeled at up to about 12,800 pounds of pressure.
Biomechanical estimates for T. rex speed vary; Fossil Atlas treats running speed as modeled and debated.
The first partial skeleton was discovered by Barnum Brown in 1902 in Montana's Hell Creek Formation.
T. rex had forward-facing eyes that gave it strong binocular vision compared with many other dinosaurs.
A fully grown T. rex replaced teeth throughout its life, with new teeth growing in behind older ones.
The name Tyrannosaurus rex means 'tyrant lizard king.'
More than 50 T. rex specimens have been identified, making it unusually well represented for a giant theropod.
Barnum Brown found the first partial skeleton in Montana's Hell Creek Formation in 1902, and Henry Fairfield Osborn named the animal in 1905. More than 50 specimens have since been identified, making T. rex unusually well-known for a giant theropod. That richness has fed debates that poorer-fossil animals cannot sustain: how fast it moved, whether it was feathered, how much it scavenged versus actively hunted, and how different the sexes were. Sue, collected in South Dakota in 1990, remains one of the most complete large dinosaur skeletons ever found and has driven years of detailed study on growth, bone density, and pathology.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Tyrannosaurus rex.
Triceratops
The most common large herbivore in its range and the most likely source of the bite marks found on some Triceratops skulls.
Edmontosaurus
Large duck-billed herds shared the same Hell Creek floodplains and were probably the most frequently taken prey.
Ankylosaurus
A heavily armored contemporary whose tail club made it a dangerous animal even for a predator of T. rex's size.
Other members of Tyrannosauridae.
Gorgosaurus
A smaller, earlier Canadian tyrannosaurid with a very similar body plan, living several million years before T. rex.
Tarbosaurus
The Asian tyrannosaurid that filled the same apex-predator role in the Mongolian Nemegt Formation at roughly the same time.
Albertosaurus
A slender Canadian relative that predated T. rex by several million years, showing the tyrannosaurid family had considerable diversity before the giant end-Cretaceous forms.
Pins show selected fossil records for Tyrannosaurus rex; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
These are sourced specimen assets, separate from reconstruction artwork. Only media with clear open or reusable rights is displayed by default.
Tyrannosaurus rex (YPM VP 065830). Digital Image: Yale Peabody Museum; photo by Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Yale Peabody Museum 2016
YPM · YPM VP 065830 · Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Yale Peabody Museum
USNM PAL 537768_1
USNM · USNM PAL537768 · Michael Brett-Surman
USNM PAL 603855_2
Michael Brett-Surman
USNM PAL 603855_1
Michael Brett-Surman
USNM V 6183_1
Michael Brett-Surman
USNM PAL 603855_3
Michael Brett-Surman
Tyrannosaurus rex is represented here by selected fossil records from western north america, with selected records from hell creek, lance, scollard, frenchman, and related latest cretaceous formations. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include Hell Creek Formation. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Tyrannosaurus rex map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
Request desk
Request another dinosaur like Tyrannosaurus rex, submit a correction, or tell us what would make this page useful as a printable card.
Tell us which dinosaur or fossil site to map next, flag a correction, suggest a new pin, or request a card pack. Hit the button to open a prefilled email. We read every one.
Email request