Dinosaur Quick Facts:
- One of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time being roughly 6 tonnes in weight
- Stands 12m (39 feet) tall
- Its jaws were armed with 150mm long, sharp, serrated teeth
- Was alive during the Cretaceous Period
- More than 30 specimens of T.rex have now been identified
Tyrannosaurus (meaning “Tyrant Lizard”), was one of the largest terrestrial carnivors of all time being roughly six tonnes in weight. Tyrannosaurus’s massive skull was balanced by a long, heavy tail.
The heavily reinforced skull of T.rex suggests that it was a devastating predator, with bone-crushing bite strength. The jaws were armed with 150mm long, sharp, serrated teeth.
Relative to the large and powerful hind limbs, Tyrannosaurus forelimbs were small and retained only two digits. Recent specimens have shown the tiny arms to have been well-muscled, presumably to enable the animal to anchor itself to the ground as it attempted to straighten its hind legs and stand up from a prone position.
It was among the last dinosaurs to exist prior to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. More than 30 specimens of T.rex have now been identified, some nearly complete, which has allowed significant research into many aspects of its biology, including its life history and biomechanics.