Looks like Tyrannosaurus rex isnāt the only apex predator of Late Cretaceous North America which bears the scientific title of āT.rexāā¦
https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/items/dbbf9dc2-f0cb-40fc-87b2-a92791f3c3cc
So here comes two color pencil impression Iāve made of the two T.rexes of Late Cretaceous North America, Tyrannosaurus rex on land and Tylosaurus rex, the 13-14 meter (43-46 ft) long specimens of which were once thought the have been exceptionally large individuals of T.proriger, in the sea.
Tylosaurus rex also happens to hold a special place in my heart as my favorite mosasaur species since it is the badass apex predator of the Western Interior Seaway which features prominently in two pieces of educational paleomedia with the title āSea Monstersā, the first being a Walking with Dinosaurs trilogy and the other being A Prehistoric Adventure, which I once loved as a nerdy, paleontology-loving kid back in the 2000s. Apparently the status of Tylosaurus as the most fearsome mosasaur depicted in popular media ever since the early 20th century did not last forever, and my childhood ended when Jurassic World came out and Mosasaurus stole this speciesās thunder for a whole decadeā¦but with a new paper published two days ago on the largest Tylosaurus specimens which sheds light into their badassery and classifies them into a new species which bears the same scientific title as that of Tyrannosaurus rex, along with renewed interest in the mosasaur stemming from indie-made paleomedia such as āDinosauriaā and āPath of Titansā, I think Tylosaurus will be able to stand another chance to fight off Mosasaurus hoffmani once again for the title of Most Fearsome Mosasaur in future media.
As someone who has grown up with the Walking Withā¦series and other paleo-documentaries as a child and is planning on making my own paleo-docs and webcomics in the future, Iāll be making more posts like this about the current state of paleomedia, especially the educational side of it, the history and legacy of Walking with Dinosaurs and the the Paleo-Doc genre, and what can be done about bringing scientifically accurate representations of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals to life in indie projects, so this will be all Iāve got for now.