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The type species Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning "king" in Latin), often shortened to T. rex or colloquially T-Rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia.
- Bob Strauss
- Not the Biggest Meat-Eating Dinosaur. Most people assume that the North American Tyrannosaurus rex—at 40 feet from head to tail and seven to nine tons—was the biggest carnivorous dinosaur that ever lived.
- Arms Not as Tiny as Once Thought. One feature of Tyrannosaurus rex that everyone makes fun of is its arms, which seem disproportionately tiny compared to the rest of its massive body.
- Very Bad Breath. The dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era obviously didn't brush their teeth or floss. Some experts think shards of rotten, bacteria-infested meat constantly lodged in its closely packed teeth gave Tyrannosaurus rex a "septic bite," which infected and eventually killed its wounded prey.
- Females Bigger Than Males. There's a good reason to believe, based on fossils and the shapes of the hips, that the female T. rex outweighed the male by a few thousand pounds.
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Growth Spurts and Extinction
Tyrannosaurus rex, whose name means “king of the tyrant lizards,” was built to rule. This dinosaur’s muscular body stretched as long as 40 feet—about the size of a school bus—from its snout to the tip of its powerful tail. Weighing up to eight tons, T. rex stomped headfirst across its territory on two strong legs. These dinosaurs likely preyed on l...
Not everything about Tyrannosaurus rex was fierce, however. This dinosaur had unexpectedly puny arms, and the function of these little limbs is a source of debate among scientists. Some believe the animal’s arms were an evolutionary leftover—like the pelvic bones of a snake—or served non-predatory purposes like helping it grip a mate. Others argue ...
Tyrannosaurus rex had a life expectancy of about 28 years. Previous studies have suggested that it went through a growth spurt in its teenage years, but until recently, scientists didn’t know much about how it grew from a hatchling to a powerful predator. In January 2020, a study of the fossils of Nanotyrannus—a smaller tyrannosaur that was believe...
- 4 min
- Amy McKeever
Apr 18, 2024 · Tyrannosaurus rex is the best-known and largest member of a group of theropod dinosaurs called tyrannosaurs; its scientific name is Latin for “king of the tyrant lizards.” Since 1902 paleontologists have recognized the T. rex as the only formal member of the genus Tyrannosaurus.
- John P. Rafferty
Apr 1, 2014 · “Tyrannosaurus” is Greek for “tyrant lizard,” and “rex” means “king” in Latin. So, Tyrannosaurus rex was “King of the Tyrant Lizards.” When and where did T. rex live? T. rex lived about 66–68 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period in the western United States, including Montana and Wyoming. What was the world like when T. rex was alive?
Tyrannosaurus rex. Discover why this ancient predator is known as the king of the dinosaurs. By Elizabeth Hilfrank. A 40-foot-long predator stomps through a forested valley in what’s now...
Apr 1, 2024 · Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs that ever lived. Tyrannosaurus rex lived in what is now Western North America during the late Cretaceous period.(Image credit:...
