RE: Tyrannosaur specimen identification?

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of Bruce Woollatt
>
> Hi all;
> 
> I'm wondering about the status of a particular tyrannosaur 
> skull: AMNH 5434. It is identified as Gorgosaurus libratus in 
> Mathew and Brown 1923 (see it here 
> http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/3207 ) and 
> in Guilmore's 1946 G.lancensis paper, but I'm wondering if 
> it's actually Daspletosaurus. The tooth count seems high for 
> Gorgo and there is no suborbital process on the postorbital 
> bone. It looks a lot like the Field Museum's FMNH PR308 which 
> used to be classified as Albertosaurus libratus but is now 
> considered (I believe) Daspletosaurus sp.

It ought to look a lot like FMNH PR308; it IS now FMNH PR308 (its new number
when the Field acquired the specimen from the AMNH). And yes, Carr
demonstrated it was a Daspletosaurus skull.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
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