Tyrannosaurus rex

Osborn, 1905
Original : AMNH FARB 5027. 1913-23-1 MNHN.F.AMN165
Reptilia, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda
Upper Cretaceous, Maastrichtian, 66 million years ago
Hell Creek Formation, Montana, USA

This cast is of the famous T. rex skull discovered by Barnum Brown, a professional fossil hunter employed by the American Museum of Natural History. The skull was described by Osborn in 1912. It was associated with a skeleton, 50% complete, which remained the most famous T. rex until the discovery in 1990 of Sue, a complete skeleton on display in Chicago’s Field Museum.

Tyrannosaurus is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs. Its weight could exceed 9 tonnes and it could measure around 13 m in length.

The tyrannosaurids are particularly remarkable for the size of their skull relative to their body. Their curved, serrated teeth could reach up to 30 cm in length. Tyrannosaurus had the most powerful bite ever recorded for a land animal and probably mainly preyed on hadrosaurids such as Edmontosaurus or ceratopsia such as Triceratops. The purpose of T. rex’s atrophied forelimbs remains a mystery for palaeontologists.