Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Did T.rex hunt in packs? The largest known theropod would have powerful on its own, but in a group T.rex would be virtually unstoppable. This video analyzes recent studies on tyrannosaur behavior, specifically gregariousness and parasociality. Some of T.rex's closest relatives have been found in groups in bone beds, indicating some form of social behavior. Dr. Alan Titus and his team described a Teratophoneus bone bed earlier this year, with four Teratophoneus individuals of different ages and sizes found together. The Dry Island Albertosaurus quarry contains between 12 and 26 individual Albertosaurus, providing more strong evidence that T.rex hunted in packs. The Two Medicine Formation yields three Daspletosaurus, strengthening the theory further.
T.rex as a pack hunter is a fascinating concept. The herbivores it shared its environment with were powerful and massive, like Triceratops and Ankylosaurus, so perhaps on occasion T.rex would have ganged up on such dangerous prey items. The younger tyrannosaurs would have used their superior speed and agility to harry the prey while the more massive and powerful adults brought their full strength to bear.
Was T.rex a pack hunter? Find out here!
SOURCES
McCrea RT, Buckley LG, Farlow JO, Lockley MG, Currie PJ, Matthews NA, et al. (2014) A ‘Terror of Tyrannosaurs’: The First Trackways of Tyrannosaurids and Evidence of Gregariousness and Pathology in Tyrannosauridae. PLoS ONE 9(7): e103613. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103613
Titus AL, Knoll K, Sertich JJW, Yamamura D, Suarez CA, Glasspool IJ, Ginouves JE, Lukacic AK, Roberts EM. 2021. Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness. PeerJ 9:e11013 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11013
Did T.rex hunt in packs? The largest known theropod would have powerful on its own, but in a group T.rex would be virtually unstoppable. This video analyzes recent studies on tyrannosaur behavior, specifically gregariousness and parasociality. Some of T.rex's closest relatives have been found in groups in bone beds, indicating some form of social behavior. Dr. Alan Titus and his team described a Teratophoneus bone bed earlier this year, with four Teratophoneus individuals of different ages and sizes found together. The Dry Island Albertosaurus quarry contains between 12 and 26 individual Albertosaurus, providing more strong evidence that T.rex hunted in packs. The Two Medicine Formation yields three Daspletosaurus, strengthening the theory further.
T.rex as a pack hunter is a fascinating concept. The herbivores it shared its environment with were powerful and massive, like Triceratops and Ankylosaurus, so perhaps on occasion T.rex would have ganged up on such dangerous prey items. The younger tyrannosaurs would have used their superior speed and agility to harry the prey while the more massive and powerful adults brought their full strength to bear.
Was T.rex a pack hunter? Find out here!
SOURCES
McCrea RT, Buckley LG, Farlow JO, Lockley MG, Currie PJ, Matthews NA, et al. (2014) A ‘Terror of Tyrannosaurs’: The First Trackways of Tyrannosaurids and Evidence of Gregariousness and Pathology in Tyrannosauridae. PLoS ONE 9(7): e103613. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103613
Titus AL, Knoll K, Sertich JJW, Yamamura D, Suarez CA, Glasspool IJ, Ginouves JE, Lukacic AK, Roberts EM. 2021. Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness. PeerJ 9:e11013 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11013
