Dinosaur of the Day 2/3/15

Dryptosaurus

Height: 10 feet tall

Length: 25 feet long

Weight: 1 to 1.5 tons

One of my personal favorite Tyrannosauriod for many reasons. One reason is that it was discovered right here in my home state of New Jersey. (And no, we don't talk like the people in Jersey Shore). Another reason is that it is the first carnivorous dinosaur found in North America. Dryptosaurus was a genus of primitive tyrannosaur that lived in Eastern North America during the Late Cretaceous period. Although largely unknown now outside of academic circles, a famous painting of the genus by Charles R. Knight made it one of the more widely known dinosaurs of its time, in spite of its poor fossil record.