Meet Gorgosaurus at Manchester Museum

New dinosaur greets visitors.

If you pop down to Manchester Museum before October, you will find a new ‘meeter & greeter’ awaiting you in the foyer – 7.3m long, 2.6m high, and with a smile baring her razor sharp teeth, meet Gorgosaurus!

If, like us, you love visiting Stan the T-Rex who has called the museum his home for the past ten years, then we are sure that you will also love his smaller, but equally amazing cousin. We popped down to the museum today to see Gorgosaurus and watch her make friends with an Australovenator (meaning ‘Southern Hunter’), the fearsome looking creature starring in Dinosaur Zoo which is coming to the Palace Theatre from Friday 18th – Saturday 26th July.

There were smiles and clicking cameras all round as Australovenator strode through the museum foyer, sniffing for potential prey and meeting Gorgosaurus. Younger visitors also delighted in meeting a cute baby dinosaur who was being shown off by a member of Dinosaur Zoo.

The Gorgosaurus was found within a Maiasura dinosaur bed in Montana and is one of the most complete and best preserved tyrannosaur skeletons found to date. Even the skull is 100% complete and has been taken apart, cleaned and reassembled, making all the parts visible in a superb 3D display.

They may have been large and fearsome, but life for a tyrannosaur was often hard. Hunting, fighting and disease could all take a harsh toll and the cast bones of his Gorgosaurus revealed many details of the difficult life it led – broken and healed bones were found, active infections and also the first and only dinosaur brain tumour ever documented!

Professor Phil Manning, who is Professor of Natural History and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life at the University of Manchester commented,

“Dinosaurs often conjure images of nature red in tooth and claw; this Late Cretaceous predatory dinosaur from Montana gorily delivers this on all counts. This Gorgosaurus displays some of the most painful infections, violent trauma and remarkable recovery that I have ever seen in an animal. The shape and robust nature of this predator skeleton suggest it was a female. She was clearly a natural born killer, but also a resilient survivor. I have no doubt that this remarkable dinosaur will inspire all who gaze upon her immortal fossil remains.”

The Gorgosaurus was also the centrepiece of the X-Appeal Exhibit at The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2014 – an annual exhibit which showcases the most cutting-edge science and technology in the UK. She was the focal point of a series of experiments developed by University of Manchester scientists, which explored how to use the electromagnetic spectrum to image, analyse and investigate her past.

In addition to being able to visit Gorgosaurus, the museum shop will also be stocking copies of Dinosaur Wars, the new 80-page children’s book by Professor Phil Manning, which features all of the mightiest, most ferocious dinosaurs that roamed the planet, including Gorgosaurus. Professor Manning is one of the world’s leading experts on dinosaurs, has authored several books and has also presented many public lectures worldwide, as well as TV shows for the National Geographic Channel, BBC and History Channel. Much of Professor Manning’s work is based around the exploration of the history of life on Earth, by developing and applying 21st Century techniques to his research and investigations.