5 Interesting Facts About The T.rex

One of the most famous and notable Dinosaurs, the **Tyrannosaurus Rex** is a type of Theropod *Dinosaur* and since it's discovery by 18th to 19th century **paleontologist** *Barnum Brown*, has become of if not the most well-known and iconic of it's kind. Many fossils of the Tyrannosaurus have been found allowing scientists to learn more and more about how big it was, how it hunted, and how it lived. Let's take a look at five fascinating facts about the "King of The Dinosaurs".

## 1. Massive Size

The Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest *terrestrial predators* and **carnivorous** Dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth . The *Tyrannosaurus* measured up to 40 feet long and could weighed as much as nine tons, though the general consensus are that adults had a mass of in-between six to eight tons (possibly upto 15 metric tonnes in the upper range, which is highly unlikely), which is still extremely large by relative standards. Scientists nowadays also believe that fully-grown females grow to be about 1-2,000 pounds heavier than the males (read more about that here). The Dinosaur is often used in movie and films such as Jurassic Park/World due to its large size and overall fearsome image.

## 2. Stance

The *Tyrannosaurus rex* was a "bipedal" **Dinosaur,** meaning that it walked and ran on two legs. These two legs were large and strong to carry the immense mass of the animal. In contrast, the arms of the T-rex were relatively small. Although, it is thought that the small arms were very strong for there three-foot size, capable of bench pressing 400 pounds (each) as recent studies have conclusively shown, three times stronger than the arm muscles of your average adult human. If not, the T.rex's arms were atleast strong enough to pick up smaller, quivering dinos from the ground.

## 3. Feeding Habits

The *T.rex* ate meat from other animals and **Dinosaurs**, however, there is much debate over whether the *Tyrannosaurus Rex* was a predator (hunted and killed it's own prey) or whether it was a scavenger (meaning it stole food from other predators and fed of rotting carcasses). However, since the T.rex was at the top of it's food chain, it is now believed that the Tyrannosaurus actually indulged in both behaviors, as would any meat-eating animal that would want to avoid being starved to death. A lot depends on how fast the Dinosaur was. Some say the T-Rex was really the speedy tank it was in Jurassic Park/World (24 to 43 mph to be precise), while others say that the dino was slow (10 mph) and would use its fearsome jaws to scare off other predators and take their kill.

The jaw muscles of the *T.rex* were huge, bigger than that of any other meat-eating dinosaur or **land animal** for that matter. Scientists examining a *Tyrannosaurus* skull in 1996 at Stanford University calculated it chomped down with a force of 7-9,000 pounds PSI. *Recent* estimates suggest a biting strength of 12,000 pounds PSI, more than enough to crush the bones of the animals it preyed on (the strongest of any terrestrial animal to ever exist).

## 4. Distribution

There are numerous significant specimens of the **Tyrannosaurus** in museums throughout the world. One of the largest and most complete is "Sue" at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Another major T-Rex specimen is "Stan" at Black Hills Museum of Natural History Exhibit in Hill City, South Dakota. Also, paleontologist Barnum Brown's (discoverer of **T.rex**) largest Tyrannosaurus find (he found 5 in total) can be seen at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Unfortunately, the only documented track of a *Tyrannosaurus Rex* can be found at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

## 5. Possibly Feathered

It is considered a fact that all Dinosaurs, especially **Theropods**, were covered in feathers some point during their life cycle, most likely when they first hatched. The feathered dinosaurs theory was backed up when scientists discovered the feathered Tyrannosaurs (read about that here and here) "*Yutyrannus huali*" (mandarin for "feathered tyrant") and "*Dilong paradoxus*" ("beautiful feathered tyrant") in China. Even though there is no concrete evidence for a feathered T.rex, until new specimens are discovered, we can't now for sure.