Tyrannosaurus, one of the many extinct dinosaur genera. The cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event is a subject of much debate amongst researchers
English: A life restoration of the theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. • The proportions are based on a Tyrannosaurus skeletal reconstruction by Scott Hartman [1] • It's not clear whether derived tyrannosaurs would have been covered in scales, feathers, or a combanation of both. A few small skin impressions have been described for Tyrannosaurus which show small pebbled skin; close relatives, Tarbosaurus and Gorgosaurus are known to have similar pebbled skin.[1] [2] Skin impressions from the closley related Gorgosaurus are reported to show both smooth, naked skin and scales.[3] [4] A 2017 study looked at a variety of tyranosaurid skin impressions and came to the conclusion that derived tyrannosaurs were probably scaly over most their body. [2] What complicates the issue is that most coelurosaur fossils show feathers covering thier bodies and inference would suggest the same for tyrannosaurs. The smaller basal tyrannosauriod Dilong and the larger tyrannosauroid Yutyrannus also preserve feather impressions. This raises the probability that, derived tyrannosaurs had a mix of feathers and scales on different parts of the body or that feathers were lost as individuals reach maturity [5] [6] A study published in 2017 looked at the texture of a tyrannosaurs skull bones and suggested that there may have been large, flat Crocodile-like skin cracks/scales on the front of the snout of tyrannosaurids. [7] The details on the head in this restoration are based on an similar interpetration of bone texture by Mark Witton in which he suggests that certain areas of the head were covered in a cornified sheath as well as scales. [2] I often update my images. If you want to post any of my images on a website, if possible, don’t host/save it to the website server. I’d prefer it if the image's Wikimedia URL is used or a link is provided to this page. This allows updates to be seen by future viewers. Thanks. References ↑ Currie, Philip; Badamgarav, Demchig; Koppelhus, Eva. (2003). "'The First Late Cretaceous Footprints from the Nemegt Locality in the Gobi of Mongolia'" (PDF). Ichnos 10 (1): 1-13. ↑ a b Bell, P R., et al (2017). "Tyrannosauroid integument reveals conflicting patterns of gigantism and feather evolution". Biology Letters. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0092. ↑ Currie, P. (2001). 2001 A. Watson Armour Symposium: The Paleobiology and Phylogenetics of Large Theropods. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ↑ Carpenter, Kenneth (1997) "Tyrannosauridae" in Currie, Philip J. & Padian, Kevin (eds.). , ed. Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, San Diego:  Academic Press, pp. 768 ISBN: 0-12-226810-5.  ↑ Xu, X., Norell, M. A., Kuang, X., Wang, X., Zhao, Q., Jia, C. (2004). "Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids". Nature 431: 680–684. DOI:10.1038/nature02855. ↑  (2012). "A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China" (PDF). Nature 484: 92–95. DOI:10.1038/nature10906. PMID 22481363. ↑  (2017). "A new tyrannosaur with evidence for anagenesis and crocodile-like facial sensory system". Scientific Reports 7: 44942. DOI:10.1038/srep44942.