When did the Tyrannosaurus Rex live? Tyrannosaurus, tyrannosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex, tyrannosaurus lizard, all about tyrannosaurus, about tyrannosaurus

Truly the most impressive predator in the history of our planet. - accepted Latin name. But it comes from two ancient Greek words: lizard-tyrant. In terms of body size, it is now the second terrestrial predator, second only to the spinosaurus. However, in all other parameters, including the general muscles and massiveness of the head, he surpasses the latter. The correct spelling in Russian is with two "n".

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Time and place of existence

Tyrannosaurs lived at the end Cretaceous about 68 - 66 million years ago. They were distributed throughout the territory of the present North America(Canada and the United States).

Superb artistic reconstruction by Ukrainian palaeoartist Sergey Krasovsky. The dinosaur exudes threat, power and shows a "fiery" character.

Types and history of discovery

In fact, only one species has been confirmed , which translates from Latin as king lizard tyrant.

body structure

The body length of this creature reached 12.8 meters. The height is up to 4.3 m. An adult representative of tyrannosaurs weighed up to 8870 kilograms (an instance of RSM P2523.8 named Scotty).

The Cretaceous theropod moved on two strong legs. relied on three long fingers with sharp claws. Another reduced finger was located behind. The height of the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the hips is about 4 m. The forelimbs look very unusual in comparison with the rest of the body. They are extremely small (greatly reduced) and each is equipped with only two small fingers.

An impressive massive head was attached to a short powerful neck. The photograph below shows the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skull, reaching a length of 1.5 m (specimen MOR 008). This is the real pride of the exposition of the Museum of the Rocky Mountains (Bozeman, Montana, USA).

Due to its special nature, this fossil circulates around the world on long tours. However, there are doubts about the reliability of the reconstruction.

The issue of the largest tyrannosaurus skull is discussed on our channel.

You can imagine what the muscles of the giant were like. The neck had to withstand the sudden load of jerks. Both jaws were ideally suited for quickly tearing off a piece of meat. The sharp teeth were bent back, which prevented the victim from escaping from the jaws. They were serrated along the edges, which made it possible to break through even solid elements.

The thick spine was able to withstand colossal overloads.

The figure shows a reconstruction of the landscape of North Dakota with two adults. The leathery scallops above the eyes are just the assumption of the artist.

Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton

The photo shows an exhibit of the species Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue (FMNH instance PR2081). Main Hall of the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA)

Look also at a high-quality photo of one of the most formidable skulls, while well preserved. This is the head of a specimen named Samson on display at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, USA).

Nutrition and lifestyle

Some scientists put forward deliberately erroneous assumptions that the main food of the animal was carrion. A creature that feeds primarily on corpses would not need such a massive skeleton with the appropriate musculature. And incredible, even in comparison with other giant theropods, weapons. To eat dead bodies, this is not required at all - the jaw apparatus of abelisaurids or coelophysoids is enough. With powerful legs and almost atrophied upper limbs, the tyrant lizard was a model of a pronounced predator, honed by evolution. Top of the food chain.

At the same time, it is important to note that, having come across the remains of animals in an acceptable state for consumption, the tyrannosaurus, of course, did not disdain them. This is normal for most modern predators as well. What's more, the Tyrannosaurus rex could, if given the opportunity, drive small dinosaurs away from their prey.

Panoramic painting by Canadian palaeoartist Julius Chotogni (click to enlarge). The discovery of an adult tyrannosaurus promises him a lunch of seafood. Late Cretaceous predator stumbled upon the corpse of a mosasaurus, stuck on the shore after low tide. In the distance to the right, a lone Triceratops grazes.

There is evidence that a Tyrannosaurus may have fed on late Maastrichtian sauropods: a tooth has been found embedded in the neck vertebra of Alamosaurus. In this case, it is not known whether the sauropod killed the sauropod on its own or found it already dead.

The T-rex is the most popular dinosaur in the world. this moment. He appears in hundreds of books, cartoons and movies.

Tyrannosaurus rex with a baby under an orange sky, literally flooded with flying lizards. Illustration by Todd Marshall (USA).

Video

Excerpt from documentary film"Dinosaur Battles" The power of the jaws, the effectiveness of the teeth, as well as other structural features of the body of the "terrible lizard" are shown.

An excerpt from the documentary "When Dinosaurs Roamed America." We see a young tyrannosaurus rex and its mother hunting late Cretaceous ornithopods, edmontosaurs.

Mouth shut: they had lips. Perhaps tyrannosaurs were not as toothy as they are usually portrayed. New research suggests that their sharp pearl teeth were hidden behind the labial folds. This discovery could change the typical image of a dinosaur showing off its fanged grin.

The deadly fangs of a Cretaceous predator were covered with a rather thin layer of enamel. To avoid the destruction of the enamel and, as a result, the tooth, such a thin and fragile enamel must be constantly maintained in a moist environment. The study of modern large lizards confirms this theory: all terrestrial species, such as komodo dragon, closed mouth.

Their lipless counterparts, such as crocodiles, live in water, in a humid environment, and do not need additional moisture to preserve the tooth surface. The Tyrannosaurus rex terrified all the inhabitants of the earth (not water!), And he needed lips to protect his 10-15 cm teeth and keep them in excellent combat condition.

Herd mentality: tyrannosaurs moved in packs. This is one of the reasons why you probably don't want to travel back in time to the Cretaceous period. In western Canada, scientists have discovered the remains of three tyrannosaurs moving together. And although the reasons for their death have not been established, scientists have received new information about the habits of tyrannosaurs.

The three tyrannosaurs discovered were mature specimens that had already seen life. All three knew perfectly well how to survive in their cruel world where the dinosaur ate the dinosaur. They were about 30 years old - and this is a respectable age for a tyrannosaurus rex. The skin prints were still visible, and one could even see that one of the dinosaurs had its left leg torn off. They followed each other, but kept their distance. These footprints, left 70 million years ago, are the best evidence that dinosaurs formed into herds.

Transitional age: teenage terror among tyrannosaurs. There is one version that explains why the "Canadian trio" kept their distance from each other. From the early age tyrannosaur cubs entered into fierce fights with each other. The remains of one of the young dinosaurs, named "Jane" (although the sex of the animal has not been determined), suggests that the dinosaur was beaten to a pulp by another young dinosaur.

A heavy blow was dealt to Jane's muzzle and upper jaw, which broke her nose. The adversary was the same age as Jane: his teeth prints match the size of Jane's teeth. At the time of her death, Jane was 12 years old, and these injuries had already healed, leaving her face forever flattened. This means that the fight happened much earlier, when both dinosaurs were even younger.

By the age of 12, Jane was already a real instrument of death: a baby compared to an adult tyrannosaurus, she reached 7 m in length and 2.5 m in height at the sacrum, and her weight was about 680 kg.

"He or she?": a gender question. Paleontologists are still struggling with exact definition gender of dinosaurs. Even dinosaurs with crests, bony collars at the back of their skulls, horns, spikes, and more characteristic features do not have clear gender characteristics. It seems that male and female dinosaurs looked the same.

However, take a look at the famous MOR 1125, also known as the "B-rex", one of the specimens of the Museum of the Rocky Mountains. An information plate near the exhibit confidently states that the remains belonged to a female.

The find of MOR 1125 was notable for the fact that soft tissue was preserved in the femur of this dinosaur. Mary Schweitzer, a paleontologist at the University of North Carolina, made a discovery while studying them: she found the so-called medullary bone in the remains. This is a special structure that is chemically different from other types bone tissue, which appears in females before oviposition. Thus, it was proved that the femur belonged to a female pregnant at the time of death.

With this discovery, it became clear that in dinosaurs, as in birds, a sharp increase in estrogen during pregnancy provoked the appearance of medullary bone.

Tyrannosaurus as a dish for dinner. Violent interspecies fights of dinosaurs did not end broken noses. If someone's meat was available and the Tyrannosaurus rex was hungry, it could be considered that "the meal is served." Even if it meant the crackling of a cousin's bones.

Dinosaurs needed a lot of meat to survive in the prehistoric world. Lots of meat. Fossilized dinosaur feces contain the remains of half-digested bones and flesh. This indicates a fast metabolism in the animal, and the dinosaur quickly became hungry again.

In scientific circles, there is an opinion that tyrannosaurs were cannibals. Separate finds of bones preserved the imprints of teeth, it turns out that the bones of the tyrannosaurus were gnawed by the tyrannosaurs themselves. Scientists are not sure whether they fed on already dead individuals or killed on purpose: most likely, both options are correct.

"To the tooth": the unique structure of the tooth of a tyrannosaurus rex. Dinosaur teeth are a great prop for a horror movie: a dinosaur grabs a victim, sinks its teeth into it, splatters blood, and it is clear to everyone that the victim no longer has a chance. Tyrannosaur teeth were sharp as daggers, but that's not the only reason why they were deadly weapons.

When examining the teeth of tyrannosaurs, scientists noticed cracks, and at first they mistook them for damage (of course, because dinosaurs greedily and frantically devoured food). However, it turned out that this was not damage, but a special structure of the tooth. By trapping the prey, these cracks allowed the animal to be firmly held, minimizing the possibility of escaping from the dinosaur's mouth. This tooth structure is unique. Maybe it was her merit that tyrannosaurs went down in history as one of the most large predators planets.

"Little tyrant": a relative of the tyrannosaurus rex. In 1988, paleontologist Robert Bakker announced that the tyrannosaurus rex family had new relative, Nanotyrannus (literally - "little tyrant"). The scientist made such conclusions by studying the find, the skull of a dinosaur from the University of Cleveland. Compared to the head of tyrannosaurs, this exhibit was much smaller and much narrower. In addition, he had more teeth. But was this predator a miniature relative of the tyrannosaurus rex, or was it still its cub?

Few people believed that Tyrannosaurus could change so quickly and so much, and the debate over the degree of relationship between Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus lasted quite a long time. And in 2001, the best-preserved young tyrannosaurus rex was discovered in Montana - it turned out to be the same Jane, which was described above. This teenage dinosaur had much in common with both the Cleveland University find and the large tyrannosaurs.

The dispute about Jane's species remains open - as well as the question of the very existence of the subspecies of tyrannosaurus Nanotyrannus.

Seeing off the mind: intelligence allowed tyrannosaurs to become a super-predator. There is another mystery in the evolution of the tyrannosaurus - and it is again associated with "miniature" dinosaurs.

More recently, in 2016, scientists named and described a new type view tyrannosaurus - Timurlengia euotica. He got this name in honor of Timurleng, the founder of the Timurid Empire in Central Asia: because the main finds that led to such discoveries were made on the territory of modern Uzbekistan. The second part of the name means " good ears” - this individual had long inner ear canals designed to pick up low-frequency sounds.

But the most interesting thing is the size. Scientists could not understand how a dinosaur measuring 3-4 meters in length, with a weight of about 170-270 kg, i.e., in general, about the size of a horse, could survive in ancient world. Moreover: how could he develop into a formidable super-predator weighing more than 7 tons? The answer lies in his intellect: yes, yes, it was the intellect that allowed little predator dominate the cruel world.

"Head off the shoulders": a tyrannosaurus could behead the enemy. Studying the bony collar of Triceratops, scientists have discovered new facts about the habits of tyrannosaurs. On the bone collars of Triceratops, teeth marks were found, which indicated that the tyrannosaurus not only grabbed and gnawed the collar of the Triceratops, but also literally pulled it off. The question is: why would a predator gnaw on that part of the animal where there is no meat?

It turns out that an adult tyrannosaurus bit off the head of a Triceratops. The neck of a Triceratops was considered a delicacy, and the bony collar served as a hindrance. Proof of this is the teeth marks on the neck joints of the Triceratops, which could only be there if the victim's head was torn off.

Terrible cooing of a tyrannosaurus rex: they did not make roaring sounds. To find out what sounds tyrannosaurs made, scientists examined their closest living relatives. Studying the sounds of the so-called archosaurs - crocodiles and birds - paleontologists came to the conclusion that dinosaurs did not make wild roaring sounds that frighten all living things.

If a Tyrannosaurus rex made something similar to what birds make, it must have had an air sac instead of vocal cords. Without vocal cords, a dinosaur would not be able to roar. The real voice of one of the most dangerous dinosaurs might disappoint you: most likely, it was like cooing.

For for long years humanity is 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.

Tyrannosaurus: carnivorous dinosaur

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 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 - the raptorex, which lived on the territory of the 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:

• Spinosaurus.
• Carcharodontosaurus.
• Gigantosaurus.

They are the most dangerous and strong predators among their own kind.

Power and Characteristics

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 the 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.

Gigantosaurus

Remains ancient dinosaur were discovered in 1995, and according to the measurements of scientists, the Gigantosaurus is one of the ancestors of the Tyrannosaurus. The animal had small front paws, a massive neck and jaw. The mode of transportation was small jumps on the hind legs.

Power and dimensions

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 gigantosaurus would have been defeated, since its ancestor was more developed and adapted to 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.

In late 1905, newspapermen were writing excitedly about the bones of a prehistoric monster that paleontologists had 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 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, this one is 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, tyrannosaurs ended up at the top of the food chain in 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.

IN Lately the main attention of paleontologists studying this time interval is 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 (China) 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 Ridgeley, following the results of studying the method computed tomography skulls from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (H. lancensis holotype) found unusual depressions in the skull and paranasal sinuses nose at the back of the skull, where the air sacs were located during the life of the dinosaur. 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 gleaned from the analysis of fossils that have not yet been described in 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. Muscle strength ratings indicate that these short arms were still relatively weak weapons. And since specimens with healed fractures of the forelimbs were found, the scientist concludes that they did not play vitally. important role. One thing remains: short arms could come in handy during mating games. Who knows, what if they were wrapped in multi-colored feathers? ..

Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land predators in the history of civilization, had excellent binocular vision and a well-developed sense of smell. With mighty sharp teeth, like giant scissors, he tore prey and crushed bones (not very large) herbivorous dinosaurs. Such a heavyweight was not a sprinter - he often ate carrion, and the younger generation actively pursued and caught up with prey.

For the first time, a tyrannosaurus, or rather, its skeleton, was discovered in 1902 in the United States.

The reptile moved on two legs, had tiny, short two-toed forelimbs and had huge jaws.

The word "tyrannosaurus" itself comes from two Greek words "tyrant" and "lizard".

It has not been conclusively established whether tyrannosaurs were predators or whether they fed on carrion.
Tyrannosaurs are scavengers. One of the paleontologists, American expert Jack Horner, claims that tyrannosaurs were exclusively scavengers and did not take part in hunting at all. His hypothesis is based on the following statements:
tyrannosaurs had large (relative to brain size) olfactory receptors, suggesting a well-developed sense of smell, which presumably served to locate rotting remains over great distances;
powerful teeth 18 cm long each allow crushing bones, which is required not so much for killing, but for extracting as much food as possible from what is left of the carcass, including bone marrow;
if we accept that tyrannosaurs walked, not ran (see below), and their prey moved much faster than them, then this can serve as evidence in favor of feeding on carrion.

Tyrannosaurus rex were brutal, aggressive predatory killers.

There is evidence in favor of the predatory lifestyle of the tyrannosaurus:
the eye sockets are arranged in such a way that the eyes could look forward, providing the Tyrannosaurus rex with binocular vision (allowing it to accurately judge distances), which is primarily required by a predator (although there are many exceptions);
bite marks on other animals and even other tyrannosaurs;
the comparative rarity of finds of tyrannosaur remains, in any ecosystem the number of large predators is much less than their victims.

Interesting Facts:

When studying one of the tyrannosaurs, paleontologist Peter Larson discovered a healed fracture of the fibula and one vertebra, scratches on the facial bones, and a tooth of another tyrannosaurus rex that was embedded in the cervical vertebra. If the assumptions are correct, then this indicates aggressive behavior of tyrannosaurs towards each other, although the motives remain unclear: whether this was competition for food/partner or an example of cannibalism.
Later studies of these wounds showed that most of them are not traumatic, but infectious in nature, or were inflicted after death.

In addition to live prey, these giants did not disdain to eat carrion.

Many scientists believe that tyrannosaurs could have had a mixed diet, like, for example, modern lions - predators, but can eat the remains of animals killed by hyenas.
The mode of movement of the tyrannosaurus rex remains a controversial issue. Some scientists are inclined to the version that they could run, reaching a speed of 40-70 km / h. Others believe that tyrannosaurs walked, not ran.
“Apparently,” writes H.G. Wells in the famous Outline of the History of Civilization, “tyrannosaurs moved like kangaroos, leaning on a massive tail and hind legs. Some scientists even suggest that the Tyrannosaurus rex moved by jumping - in this case, it must have had absolutely incredible muscles. A jumping elephant would be much less impressive. Most likely, the tyrannosaurus hunted herbivorous reptiles - the inhabitants of the swamps. Half immersed in liquid swamp mud, he pursued his victim through the channels and lakes of swampy plains, such as the current Norfolk swamps or the Everglades swamps in Florida.
The opinion about bipedal dinosaurs - similarities of kangaroos was widespread until the middle of the 20th century. Examination of the tracks, however, showed no tail prints. All carnivorous dinosaurs kept their body horizontal when walking, the tail served as a counterweight and balancer. In general, the tyrannosaurus is close in appearance to a huge running bird.
Recent studies of proteins found while examining a fossil T. rex femur have shown dinosaurs to be closely related to birds. Tyrannosaurus is descended from small predatory dinosaurs the end of the Jurassic era, and not from carnosaurs. The currently known small ancestors of Tyrannosaurus Rex (such as the dilong from the early Cretaceous of China) were feathered with fine, hair-like feathers. The Tyrannosaurus rex itself may not have had feathers (known prints of the skin of the thigh of a Tyrannosaurus rex bear a pattern of polygonal scales typical of dinosaurs).

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