Palaeontology

World's largest Tyrannosaurus rex unveiled

By T.K. Randall
March 23, 2019

Image: Tyrannosaurus Rex Holotype
Credit: ScottRobertAnselmo / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) Originally unearthed in Alberta, Canada in 1991, the fossil skeleton was encased in such hard sandstone that it took over a decade for paleontologists to unearth it and a further two decades for the dinosaur to be fully cleaned up and assembled.

As it turns out, the specimen is much larger than anyone had expected.

"This is the rex of rexes," said lead author Scott Persons. "There is considerable size variability among Tyrannosaurus. Some individuals were lankier than others and some were more robust."

"Scotty exemplifies the robust. Take careful measurements of its legs, hips, and even shoulder, and Scotty comes out a bit heftier than other T. rex specimens."This gargantuan dinosaur weighed in at a whopping 8,800kg and measured 13 meters in length.

In addition to being the largest, it is also believed to be the oldest known T. rex specimen.

"Scotty is the oldest T. rex known," said Persons. "By which I mean, it would have had the most candles on its last birthday cake."

"You can get an idea of how old a dinosaur is by cutting into its bones and studying its growth patterns. Scotty is all old growth."

ICYMI - Scotty the T.rex of Eastend named Sask's official fossil: https://t.co/Onzd7KAhCc #ExploreSask pic.twitter.com/QjYMjon0l0

— Tourism Saskatchewan (@Saskatchewan) May 20, 2016

Source: Phys.org

Tags: Tyrannosaurus, Dinosaur