Gorgosaurus Claw

A FOOT CLAW FROM THE FASTER AND MORE AGILE COUSIN OF T. REX

Gorgosaurus ("dreadful lizard") was a predatory dinosaur closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex. It was a bipedal, apex carnivore that lived approximately 76 million years ago in what is now western North America. Although the approximately 20 known specimens of Gorgosaurus indicate that it was smaller and lighter than its relative T. rex — and about 9-10 million years older — it was likely much faster and fiercer than its bulkier cousin.

While popular depictions of T. rex portray it as having been a fast runner, clocking in at speeds of over 40 miles per hour, current scholarship indicates that it was in fact somewhat slower, plodding along at speeds closer to 12-20 miles per hour. This is in contrast to Gorgosaurus which, with its powerful legs and relatively slender build, was a much more agile and well-balanced dinosaur. Scientists believe it could attain speeds of up to 30 m.p.h., useful for hunting hadrosaurs in its usual habitat of forested floodplains with coastal swamps and marshes.