American Museum of Natural History

It’s Fossil Friday! This archival film negative, snapped in 1966, depicts Museum visitors gazing up at the mounted remains of Gorgosaurus. This slender tyrannosaur was smaller than its gigantic cousin T. rex, reaching lengths of up to 30 ft (9 m) and weights of 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg). Compare that to an adult T. rex, which could reach lengths of 40 ft (12 m) and weigh as much as 15,500 lbs (7,030 kg)! Gorgosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous in parts of North America. The reconstruction pictured has a standing posture in which its tail drags along the ground behind it—a pose we now know is scientifically inaccurate. 

See Gorgosaurus and other dinosaurs in the Museum’s Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs! Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/44GaWHD

Photo: Image no. 332025  / © AMNH Library

📰NEWS: T. rex is still king! A recent study led by paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History, the @edinburghuniversity, and @carthagecollege refutes a provocative claim made earlier this year that fossils classified as the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex belong to three separate species. 🦖The rebuttal, published in the journal Evolutionary Biology, finds that the earlier proposal lacks sufficient evidence to split up the iconic species. Read more about their findings with the link in our bio. #news #research #paleontology #trex #tyrannosaurusrex #tyrannosaur #dinosaurs #museums #amnh https://www.instagram.com/p/CghRwtWLFV0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=