Tyrannosaurus ( or , meaning "tyrant lizard", from the
Ancient Greek tyrannos (τύραννος), "tyrant", and
sauros (σαῦρος), "lizard") is a
genus of
coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The
species Tyrannosaurus rex (
rex meaning "king" in
Latin), commonly abbreviated to
T. rex, is one of the most well-represented of the large theropods.
Tyrannosaurus lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as
Laramidia.
Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other
tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of
rock formations dating to the
Maastrichtian age of the upper
Cretaceous Period, 68 to 66
million years ago. It was the last known member of the
tyrannosaurids, and among the last non-
avian dinosaurs to exist before the
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.