Re: Oklahoma state fossil...

["T. Mike Keesey" <tmk@dinosauricon.com>]

On Mon, 22 May 2000, Steve  Brusatte wrote:

> On Mon, 22 May 2000 13:19:09   Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette wrote:
> >Here's the straight dope.
> >
> ><Summary Of House Floor Activity April 13-19>
> >> [Gov] Keating also signed Senate Bill 1185, which proclaims
> >> Saurophaganax
> >> Maximus to be the State Fossil of Oklahoma.  The measure states,
> >> "This
> >> spectacular dinosaur, the greatest king of reptile eaters, once
> >> roamed this
> >> great land, is only known from Oklahoma and has surpassed the
> >> Tyrannosaurus
> >> Rex, the king of the dinosaurs, as the greatest predator of earth's
> >> history."
> 
> Oh really, S. maximus has surpassed T. rex as "the king of the dinosaurs."???

The name _Saurophaganax maximus_ means "greatest king of the saurian
eaters". Maybe that's where the confusion stems from.

> Does anybody know the size of this thing?  I know its an allosaur, and
> going from that fact I would say that it would likely be smaller than
> T. rex.

A couple of allosaurs (carcharodontosaurines) were bigger then _T. rex_.

-- T. Michael Keesey .................................. <tmk@dinosauricon.com>
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