MONGOLIAN TYRANTS | 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘶𝘴

MONGOLIAN TYRANTS”

Among all the tyrannosaurids, Alioramus remotus is perhaps one of the most unique. Both for its size, much smaller compared to the giant tyrannosaurids well known to the general public, and for the appearance of its skull, adorned with bony crests on the tear ducts and on the elongated and thin snout.

I based my reconstruction of Alioramus on inspiration from large modern flightless birds, in particular the cassowary and the emu.

From the young cassowary, I took the color and the pattern of the plumage, and from the emu, I took the blue color of the exposed skin areas, in particular the auricular zone.

I gave ample space in the animal’s design to elements for visual communication such as vividly colored areas around the eyes, on the snout, and in the throat area.

I envisioned an Alioramus that, having detected the presence of a Tarbosaurus (in the background), has decided to take shelter in a denser area of the coniferous forest, difficult for the large predator to access.

Even though today’s Mongolian area of the Gobi Desert is decidedly barren, about 70 million years ago the so-called Nemegt Formation, in which both Alioramus and Tarbosaurus were found, was covered in lush tall forests, probably Araucariaceae, with a rich undergrowth.