- name meaning: Fierce Lizard
- average length: 8-9m( 26-30 ft )
- maximum length: 9-10 m ( 30-33 ft )
- average weight: 2-2.5 tons
- maximum weight: 2.5-2.8 tons
- average height: 2.6 m ( 8 ft )
- maximum height: 2.8-3.3 m ( 9-10 ft )
- time period: 76.6-70.3 mya
- habitat: North America
- skull length: 90-99 cm (36-39 in )
- bite force: 5000-7800 psi
- tooth length: 15 cm ( 5 in )
Like most known tyrannosaurids, Gorgosaurus was a bipedal predator weighing more than two metric tons as an adult; dozens of large, sharp teeth lined its jaws, while its two-fingered forelimbs were comparatively small. Gorgosaurus was most closely related to Albertosaurus, and more distantly related to the larger Tyrannosaurus. Gorgosaurus and Albertosaurus are extremely similar, distinguished mainly by subtle differences in the teeth and skull bones. Some experts consider G. libratus to be a species of Albertosaurus; this would make Gorgosaurus a junior synonym of that genus.
Gorgosaurus was smaller than Tyrannosaurus or Tarbosaurus, closer in size to Albertosaurus and Daspletosaurus. Adults reached 8 to 9 m (26 to 30 ft) from snout to tail. Paleontologists have estimated full-grown adults to weigh more than 2.4 tonnes (2.6 short tons), perhaps approaching 2.8 tonnes (3.1 short tons).The largest known skull measures 99 cm (39 in) long, just slightly smaller than that of Daspletosaurus. As in other tyrannosaurids, the skull was large compared to its body size, although chambers within the skull bones and large openings (fenestrae) between bones reduced its weight. Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus share proportionally longer and lower skulls than Daspletosaurus and other tyrannosaurids. The end of the snout was blunt, and the nasal and parietal bones were fused along the midline of the skull, as in all other members of the family. The eye socket was circular rather than oval or keyhole-shaped as in other tyrannosaurid genera. A tall crest rose from the lacrimal bone in front of each eye, similar to Albertosaurus and Daspletosaurus. Differences in the shape of bones surrounding the brain set Gorgosaurus apart from Albertosaurus.