Palaeontology

Massive T. rex skull unearthed in Montana

By T.K. Randall
August 20, 2016 ·  11 comments

The name Tyrannosaurus literally translates to 'tyrant lizard'. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Marcel Kunkel With its deadly gaping jaws and dagger-like teeth, the immaculately preserved fossilized skull of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex has been excavated from one of the world's most fossil-rich sites.

Described as 'very complete', the remains have been taken to Burke Museum in Seattle where they will go on show to the public even before the protective plaster cast has been removed."When we started to see those teeth with the skull, we knew we had a fantastic specimen," said Professor Greg Wilson of Washington University.

"The combination of the skull features, the size of the bones, and the honeycomb-like appearance of the bones tell us this is a T rex. This was a very exciting moment for us."

Standing 20ft high and measuring over 40ft in length, this particular specimen, which was between 15 and 25 years old when it died, would have been a force to be reckoned with when it walked the Earth during the Cretaceous period more than 66.3 million years ago.

Source: Independent | Comments (11)

Tags: Tyrannosaurus, Dinosaur