T. rex was a huge carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago. T. rex lived in humid, subtropical environment, in open forests with nearby rivers and in coastal forest swamps. The seasons were easy to live in this area. Until recently, Tyrannosaurus rex was the largest carnivorous dinosaur known; Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus were slightly larger.
ANATOMY
Tyrannosaurus rex was a ferocious predator that moved on two powerful legs. This meat-eater had a huge head with large, pointed, interchangeable teeth and well-developed jaw muscles. This animal had tiny hands, each with two fingers. the feet had three big toes, all equipped with claws (plus tiny, vestigial fourth toes). The T. Rex had a thin, stiff, pointed tail that provided balance and allowed quick turns while running. Tyrannosaurus rex's neck was short and muscular. His body was solidly built, but his bones were hollow and brittle.
THE SIZE
Tyrannosaurus Rex was up to 40 feet (12.4 m) long, 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 m) tall. Tyrannosaurus rex was approximately 5 to 7 tons in weight. The huge skull was about 5 feet (1.5 m) long. Eye sockets in skull 4 inches (10.2 cm) across, T. Rex left footprints 1.55 feet (46 cm) long (although the legs were much larger, about 3.3 feet (1 m) long, T. Rex, like other dinosaurs, walked on its toes). He had a stride length of 12 to 15 feet (3.7-4.6 m). T. Rex may have reached speeds of up to 15 mph (24 km per hour). Tyrannosaurus rex jaws were up to 4 feet (1.2 m) long and had 50 to 60 thick, conical teeth that varied in size. from very small to 9 inches (23 cm) long. Adults had varying sizes of teeth in their jaws at one time as teeth were broken and new (small) ones grew to replace them throughout life. One T. rex was found to have several teeth up to 13 inches (33 cm) long. T. Rex could eat up to 500 pounds (230 kg) of meat and bones in one bite!
The Tyrannosaurus rex had a malocclusion, when the tyrannosaurus rex closed its mouth, the upper parts of the teeth of the lower jaw could not fit properly inside the upper teeth. The tyrannosaurus probably lived in the forests where its prey ( herbivorous dinosaurs) could find a lot of food. T. rex fossils have been found in western North America and Mongolia.
Vision: T. Rex had large visual lobes in the brain to process visual information. T. Rex also had depth perception, but it was not the only dinosaur to have depth perception. In general, predators (hunters) ofter have depth perception to help them hunt their prey. Animals that do not hunt (such as herbivorous dinosaurs) tend to have their eyes on the sides of their heads (having no depth perception), allowing them to see approaching predators from both sides.
Smell: The T. rex brain had a very large area in the brain for processing odors.
TAIL
Tyrannosaurus had a stiff, pointed tail (The tail was used as a counterbalance to its huge head, for agility and for making quick turns. The back of the tail was reinforced with a spinal lock (locking bone structures projecting back and forth from the neural arch, locking the vertebrae into each other) Tyrannosaurus was, of course, one of the largest land carnivores of all time.The recently discovered Giganotosaurus carolinii and Carcharodontosaurus may have been even more enormous.
Tyrannosaurus in Greek means "tyrant lizard", it was one of the last existing dinosaurs on the planet. The T-Rex, as it is also called, was the largest and most powerful of the carnivorous carnivorous dinosaurs.
It was larger than a modern elephant, the Tyrannosaurus rex was the size of a tennis court in length and could easily look into the windows of the third floor.
Tyrannosaurus rex had a massive head one and a half meters in diameter, planted on a flexible and powerful neck. His brain was elongated and narrow.
The dinosaur's eyesight was very well developed, as was its hearing and sense of smell, so it was easy for him to smell prey. The eyes of the tyrannosaurus accurately estimated the distance to the victim and allowed the animal, baring its gaping mouth, to rush and tear the victim to pieces in a matter of seconds.
Tyrannosaurus (Tyrannosaurus), T-Rex - the most big predator dinosaurs. The rows of teeth, arranged in a curve in the upper jaw, resembled a scalpel blade. Tyrannosaurus easily pierced sharp teeth even the toughest animal skin, and then with quick movements of the head tore it into pieces. Tyrannosaurus teeth could grow up to 18 cm in length. When teeth wear out, new ones grow in their place.
Compared to the massive hind legs, the forelegs could seem ridiculously small. The front legs looked like two clumsy appendages, they were useless in attacking the victim and too short to bring food to the mouth. Despite this, everyone knows that the front legs also had developed muscles. Most likely you have seen how pets use their forelimbs to stand up or vice versa to lower themselves to the ground.
Wandered alone or in pairs and followed herds of large herbivores, waiting for weak, young or sick individuals. Sometimes they hunted from ambush in order to catch prey after a short chase, and the tyrannosaurus rex could reach speeds of up to 40 km / h. Most experts are still arguing on this issue, but almost all of them admit that this dinosaur was an active predator and did not refuse carrion.
Very often, the Tyrannosaurus rex is depicted with a steeply raised head, a wide belly, legs apart and a snake tail that drags along the ground. Now we know that with the body of a tyrannosaurus rex is located horizontally, and a powerful tail goes into the back and balances the head. Lately in South America skeletons of an even larger predator, the Giganotosaurus, were found, with a skull size of 1.83 meters in diameter. The largest known skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex was discovered in the sixties in Montana (USA). Its dimensions were 1.5 m.
T-Rex - scary predator, which also did not refuse carrion. Tyrannosaurus rex had a massive, heavy tail that acted as a counterweight to its head.
For many years, humanity has been interested in the origin and study of the most - dinosaurs. Huge, powerful, but at the same time amazing creatures inspire horror and respect for any of us. There is about the origin of dinosaurs.
The most famous among predators is the tyrannosaurus rex, better known to us from films and books. It is a symbol of paleontology and an image of primordial power and strength.
According to the scientific classification, the tyrannosaurus and several other species similar to it in anthropological features form the so-called group of tyrannosaurids. Of all the species that are included in this group, the most similar to a tyrannosaurus is the Tarbosaurus.
Scientists claim that tyrannosaurs lived in the territory North America approximately 65-67 million years ago, that is, at the end of the Cretaceous period. Paleontologists put forward their theory that tyrannosaurs are the prototype of their ancestors - raptorex, who lived on the territory of Raptorex reached a height of 3 meters and weighed about 80 kg, but they are associated with tyrannosaurs general structure bodies and skulls.
There are several predators that lived on planet Earth even before the Cretaceous period and are superior to tyrannosaurs in size and power.
These dinosaurs are usually referred to in the following sequence:
They are the most dangerous and strong predators among their own kind.
Tyrannosaurs ate mainly fish, but due to their speed and strength, they could pursue their prey for some distance, moving like ostriches. This is evidenced by the found paw prints. Tyrannosaurs are characterized by powerful cheekbones and jaws, but the front paws were very small. They moved with the help of massive hind legs and a tail, which helped to maintain balance. The front paws had two toes, and the hind paws had 4.
It is unfortunate that historians put forward only hypotheses. It's very unique and interesting creatures and their study requires great effort and perseverance.
The remains of an ancient dinosaur were discovered in 1995, and according to the measurements of scientists, the Giganotosaurus is one of the ancestors of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The animal had small front paws, a massive neck and jaw. The way of movement was small jumps on the hind legs.
Giganotosaurs ate mainly fish and meat, as well as carrion. According to dinosaur age data, they lived side by side with a huge number of sauropods. Some of them had bone plates on their backs that provided them with protection from attacks from above.
If we compare the size and power, the tyrannosaurus against the giganosaurus would have been defeated, since its ancestor was more developed and adapted to the environment. Since the Giganotosaurus lived before its neighbors were no less powerful creatures that had to be fought for a place under the sun.
In 1995, the discovery of a Gigantosaurus was announced to the world, and this news made a real sensation. For many years, paleontologists believed that the largest and most massive dinosaur was considered to be a tyrannosaurus rex. The find immediately refuted these versions. Tyrannosaurus versus Gigantosaurus was inferior in size and length of the skeleton. Paleontologists from Argentina have provided the world with information that the length of the Giganotosaurus skeleton is much larger than that of its predecessor.
Based on the fact that the remains were found nearby, historians have put forward the theory that the animals moved and fed in groups. In early 2000, scientists and paleontologists from Argentina and Canada announced the discovery of an early relative of Giganotosaurus. In 2006, it received a new name - Mapusaurus - and was several times larger than Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus.
To the question: "Who is bigger - a tyrannosaurus or a giganotosaurus?" - it is safe to answer that the Gigantosaurus. First of all, based on the data of scientists, it is the gigantosaurus that is the ancestor of the tyrannosaurus, as it lived on our planet even before the Cretaceous period.
So, who's going to have the advantage when T-Rex takes on Giganotosaurus? These dinosaurs are very similar in structure and shape of the skull, however, the length of the Gigantosaurus skeleton is 13.5 meters, while that of the Tyrannosaurus Rex is 12.5 meters.
At the end of 1905, newspapermen excitedly wrote about the bones prehistoric monster that paleontologists have unearthed in the badlands of Montana. The New York Times presented the "tyrant lizard" as the most formidable fighting animal in history. More than a hundred years have passed and Tyrannosaurus rex still excites the imagination of the public and paleontologists.
More than 12 meters from muzzle to tail, dozens of pointed teeth the size of a rail crutch: a Tyrannosaurus rex that lived 66 million years ago is not just one of the prehistoric predators, but an icon of ancient horror. He is so charismatic that the routine paleontological discussion can be inflated to ugly proportions.
This happened last year when a group of paleontologists presented their views on the fact that T. rex was not so much a hunter as a scavenger. The media presented it as a sensation, which infuriated paleontologists. In fact, the issue has long been resolved: enough evidence has been collected that suggests that the dinosaur not only ran after prey, but also did not disdain carrion.
It is only discussed what role living and dead animals played in his diet. What is especially annoying is that this not the most important problem hid other, more interesting aspects from the public.
For example, the origin of dinosaurs remains a mystery. Researchers have not yet been able to determine how tiny dinosaurs jurassic(201-145 million years ago) the kings of the Cretaceous period (145-66 million years ago) grew up. What T. rex looked like as a youth is heavily debated: it is suspected that some specimens described decades ago as separate species are in fact juveniles of other species.
Even the appearance of the Tyrannosaurus rex remains controversial: many argue that the giant body was covered with fluff and feathers, and not scales. The controversial question of why the animal had such a massive head and legs, but tiny forelimbs, has not gone anywhere.
Fortunately, there is enough material. “Fossils abound,” reports Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh (UK). “It is rare that so many good specimens remain from one species. With T. rex, we may wonder how it grew, what it ate, how it moved; many other dinosaurs we can't ask that."
In the first decades after Henry Fairfield Osborne named and described the rex rex, paleontologists saw it as the culmination of the growth of land carnivores. Therefore, T. rex was considered a descendant of the Allosaurus, a 9-meter predator that lived more than 80 million years earlier. Both of them, along with other carnivorous giants, were united in the taxon Carnosauria, with T. rex considered as the last and largest member of the ferocious family.
But in the 1990s, a more rigorous research method, cladistic analysis, began to be applied, and the evolutionary relationships between groups of dinosaurs were revised. It turned out that the ancestors of T. rex "a were small furry creatures that lived in the shadow of the allosaurus and other predators of the Jurassic period.
According to the new view, T. rex and its closest relatives (Tyrannosauridae) represent the top branch on a large evolutionary "bush" called Tyrannosauroidea, which arose about 165 million years ago. Among the earliest members of this group is Stokesosaurus clevelandi, a 2-3 m long bipedal predator that lived about 150 million years ago.
Little is known about this creature, but other early tyrannosauroids suggest that Stokesosaurus most likely had a long, low skull and slender forelimbs. In the Jurassic size hierarchy, early tyrannosauroids were at the very bottom. “By today's standards, they were at the level of lapdogs,” Mr. Brusatte jokes.
How did it happen that over time the tyrannosaurs were on top the food chain North America and Asia? So far, history is silent on this. A very small number of rocks aged 90-145 million years were found (it was during this period that tyrannosaurs crushed competitors), so the biodiversity of those times was reconstructed very fragmentarily. Nothing can be said about changes in sea level and climate in general, which could lead to the dominance of this particular group.
Recently, the main attention of paleontologists studying this time interval has been riveted to China. In 2009, Peter Makowitzky of the Field Museum in Chicago (USA) and his colleagues described a long-snouted Tyrannosaurus Rex called Xiongguanlong baimoensis, which was found in western China in rocks formed 100-125 million years ago.
In length, the animal reached almost four meters - a solid step forward compared to the tyrannosaurs of the Jurassic period. And in 2012, Xu Xing from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (PRC) and colleagues described a 9-meter tyrannosaurus named Yutyrannus huali, which belongs to the same era.
This may have been a crucial time interval when tyrannosaurs and allosaurs fought to the death for the same ecological niches. In the rocks from the north of China, Mr. Brusatte and his colleagues found the allosaurus Shaochilong maortuensis, 5-6 m long, which lived about 90 million years ago, that is, the sizes of competitors approximately coincided. But exactly when and why the tyrannosaurs won remains unknown.
It's just not interesting to portray our hero. He must be fighting someone! (Fig. ameeeeba.)
A similar situation with how T. rex looked in his youth. At the center of the discussion is Nanotyrannus lancensis, found in the same North American deposits as T. rex, and possibly growing in length over 6 m. At first it was considered a separate species, but some researchers see it as a minor T. rex "a.
According to Thomas Holtz, Jr. of the University of Maryland at College Park (USA), the differences between N. lancensis and T. rex resemble those between juveniles and adults of other tyrannosaur species. It should be noted that all samples of nanotyranus seem to him "minor".
Lawrence Whitmer of Ohio University (USA) does not think so. In 2010, he and his colleague Ryan Ridgley, following a CT scan of a skull from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (H. lancensis holotype), found unusual depressions in the skull and paranasal sinuses in the back of the skull, where air sacs were located during the dinosaur's life. With these formations, this specimen is very different from T. rex "a, which makes it possible to attribute the specimen to another species.
In addition to what was said, Peter Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research (USA), argues that the teeth of nanotyranus have too small serrations and are too densely packed. He also points out the differences in the anatomy of the glenoid cavity of the scapula and the openings in the skull.
However, critics have noted that some of this information was drawn from the analysis of fossils that have not yet been described in the scientific literature. Moreover, scientists may even lose one of the key samples of nanotyranus, because in November it will be sold at auction in New York.
The hype has done its job: the specimen is estimated to fetch the owner $9 million. Most paleontologists simply refuse to consider fossils that are not freely available in a reputable museum. Does some private trader have the audacity to rob science?
“In the current situation, there is only one thing left - to advise again in a tired voice to look for other samples,” says Mr. Whitmer. For the nanotyrannus to be finally recognized as a separate species, either a young T. rex "a, more like an adult than a nanotyrannus, or the remains of an animal that was undoubtedly an adult nanotyrannus and clearly different from T. rex "and must be found. But Mr. Whitmer is pessimistic about the chances of stopping the discussion: "I don't know how much data is needed to convince everyone." T. rex is too charismatic, and views on it have already developed, so paleontologists will not simply abandon the usual opinion.
Another example of this is the debate about appearance our hero. From generation to generation he was depicted as covered with scales like modern reptiles although they are very distant relatives. But in the past two decades, specimens from many groups of dinosaurs with feathers and down have been discovered in China. Some of them are species closely related to T. rex.
In 2004, Mr. Xu described a small early Tyrannosaurus rex, Dilong paradoxus, with filament impressions around the tail, jaw, and other parts of the body. Is it a fluffy coat? The giant Y. huali was also feathered. The feathers of tyrannosaurus rexes were not like those of modern birds, but their primitive predecessors. According to Mr. Xu, they were primarily used for decoration, and later they were used for thermal insulation. It is possible that T. rex also proudly wore some kind of proto-feathers.
No, no one wants to say that T. rex looked like a chicken. We are talking about thin fibers, a kind of hairs - for example, on the muzzle.
Since not a single T. rex skin print has been found, all these are just assumptions, which is what skeptics use. Thomas Carr from Carthage College (USA) refers to skin prints of species close to T. rex that have not yet been described in the scientific literature. y, on which the scales are supposedly clearly visible. Well, it's entirely possible that early tyrannosauroids had feathers, but the subgroup of tyrannosaurids that includes T. rex evolved to abandon them in favor of scales.
The issue of feathers is very important not only for artists who no longer know how to depict the ancient miracle Yudo. If there were feathers, then we can assume some kind of mating games and talk about how the tyrannosaurus regulated body temperature.
Another secret is the giant's small hands. They are so short that you can't even reach your mouth with them. Paleontologists are all right with fantasy, and for a hundred years the most exotic hypotheses have been expressed: they say, it was so convenient to hug a partner during mating or climb steep slopes. Gradually, the opinion was established that the forelimbs are a rudiment. Countless cartoonists to this day depict tyrannosaurs, which on this basis are pursued by one embarrassment after another.
But Sarah Birch from Ohio University (USA) believes that such jokes are unfair. She studied the musculature of crocodiles and the only living descendants of dinosaurs, birds. If the arms of T. rex were indeed useless vestiges, they did not have any significant muscles, but the fossils retained signs that very significant muscles were attached to the bones.
So T. rex used his handles. But for what? Grabbed and held certain objects (for example, prey), as did all the other theropods?
Mr. Holz has a different idea. Estimates of muscle strength suggest that these short arms were still relatively weak tools. And since specimens were found with healed fractures of the forelimbs, the scientist concludes that they did not play a vital role. One thing remains: short arms could come in handy during mating games. Who knows, what if they were wrapped in multi-colored feathers? ..
Tirex (Tyrannosaurus Rex) is by far the most popular dinosaur that lived on our planet. He became the hero of a huge number of books, films, TV shows and even video games.
For a very long time, Tirex was considered the most powerful carnivore that ever walked the Earth.
Most people subconsciously believe that the North American Tyrannosaurus Rex, at 12 meters long from head to tail and weighing up to 9 tons, was the largest carnivorous dinosaur that ever walked the planet. but interesting fact lies in the fact that in ancient times there were two types of dinosaurs that exceeded Tirex in size - this is the South American Giganotosaurus, which weighed about nine tons and grew up to 14 meters long, and the North African Spinosaurus, which weighed more than 10 tons. Unfortunately, these theropods never had the opportunity to fight among themselves, since they lived in different time and in different lands They were separated by thousands of miles and millions of years.
One anatomical feature The Tyrannosaurus Rex that many make fun of is its front legs, which seem disproportionately tiny compared to the rest of its massive body. But in reality, T. Rex's front legs were over 1 meter long and may have been capable of lifting up to 200 kg.
You will be interested to know that the most caricature-tiny front legs belong to the giant Carnotaurus. His arms were like tiny bumps.
Of course, most dinosaurs mesozoic era did not have the opportunity to brush their teeth, and very few of them were pronged. Some experts believe that the remains of rotten meat contaminated with bacteria that were constantly present between the terrible teeth made the bite of the Tirex poisonous. Such a bite infected (and in eventually killed) the bitten victim. The problem is that this process would probably take days or weeks.
We don't know for sure yet, but there is good reason to believe (based on the size of T. rex fossils found and the shape of their hips) that female T. rex outsized their males by 800 kg, a sign of sexual dimorphism.
What for? The most likely reason is that the females of the species had to lay eggs huge size, this is why evolution gave females such large hips, or perhaps females were simply more experienced hunters than males (as in the case of modern lions) and consumed more food.
It is difficult to infer the lifespan of dinosaurs from their fossilized remains, but based on the analysis of skeletal specimens found, paleontologists suggest that Tyrannosaurus Rex may have lived up to 30 years. Since this dinosaur was at the top of the food chain in its range, most likely its death was from old age, disease, or starvation, and not from fights with predators. Very rarely, a Tyrannosaurus rex could die from the teeth of another predator when it was too young and weak. (By the way, in parallel with T. Rex, Titanosaurs may have lived, whose weight exceeded 50 tons, their life expectancy was about 100 years!)
For years, paleontologists have debated whether T. Rex was brutal killer, or a banal scavenger, that is, did he actively hunt, or picked up the carcasses of dinosaurs that died of old age or disease? Today, these contradictions seem rather strange, since the Tyrannosaurus Rex could use these two ways of subsistence simultaneously, like any massive predatory animal that constantly wanted to satisfy its hunger.
We all know that dinosaurs are the progenitors of birds, and that some carnivorous dinosaurs (especially carnivores) were covered in feathers. Consequently, some paleontologists believe that all tyrannosaurs, including T. rex, must have been covered in feathers at some point in their lives. life cycle, most likely when they first hatched from their eggs. This conclusion is supported by the discovery of feathered Asian tyrannosaurs such as Dilong and the nearly equal T. rex Yutyrannus.
If you think that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was the most brutal boxing fight, then you are greatly mistaken. Imagine a hungry eight-ton Tyrannosaurus Rex attacking a five-ton Triceratops! Such an unthinkable fight could certainly happen, since both of these dinosaurs lived in the late Cretaceous in the lands of North America. Of course, the average T. Rex would prefer to deal with a sick or newly hatched Triceratops. But if he was too hungry, large individuals became his victims.
Back in 1996, a team of scientists from Stanford University, who studied the skull of this dinosaur, determined that T. Rex bit its prey with a force of 700 to 1400 kg. per square inch, the largest modern alligators bite with the same force. More detailed examination of the skulls showed that its bite force was in the range of 2,300 kilograms per square inch. (For comparison, an average adult can bite with about 80 kg per inch of force). The powerful jaws of the T. Rex could even bite through the horns of Ceratops himself!
When famed paleontologist Edward Pinker Cope unearthed the first fossilized T. Rex skeleton in 1892, he referred to it as "Manospondylus gigax - Greek" "giant slender vertebrae". After further spectacular fossil searches, it was the then-president of the American Museum of Natural History, Henry Fairfield Osborn, who gave the immortal name Tyrannosaurus Rex, "the tyrant king lizard."
