Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus is one of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time. Other giant carnivores like Giganotosaurus and Spinosaurus challenge T-rex for the title of biggest land carnivore, but T-rex remains in the running. It was at least the biggest land predator in the Northern Hemisphere.

Description[]

Tyrannosaurus is a very distinct dinosaur. It's most famous feature was it's massive head. It was a terrifying 5-6 feet in length. T-rex's jaws were backed by huge muscles and it's been estimated that Tyrannosaurus could bite down with nearly 3-9 tons of force per square inch. It's giant teeth were over 9-13 inches in length and were designed like railroad spikes. Tyrannosaurus' small arms were only about 3 feet long, but could lift nearly 450 pounds. Despite it's size, T-rex could run nearly 15-25 miles per hour.

Size[]

Tyrannosaurus was a massive creature. Adults measured 40-43 feet long on the average, stood 15-18 feet tall, and weighed 7-8 tons. However, isolated fossils point to animals nearing 45-50 feet long, 20-23 feet tall, and 9-11 tons in weight.

Hunting and Diet[]

It's been theorized that Tyrannosaurus hunted in packs to help raise the young and catch prey. The faster juveniles would drive the prey into the jaws of the waiting adults who would kill it. Tyrannosaurus would have scavenged from time to time as well.

T-rex had a wide variety of prey to choose from. Hadrosaurs like Edmontosaurus, Corythosaurus, and others were the most common herbivores around. Ceratopsians like Triceratops and Styracosaurus were also common. Armored ankylosaurs and giant sauropods like Alamosaurus were also present. T-rex could have hunted any one of these animals.

Time and Location[]

Tyrannosaurus lived in North America. It lived as far north as Canada and Alaska, and as far south as Texas. Tyrannosaurus lived roughly 65-70 million years ago.

In Popular Culture[]

T-rex has been featured in a number of movies, books, documentaries, and TV shows. It's most famous role was in the Jurassic Park Trilogy. Documentaries that T-rex was featured in include When Dinosaurs Roamed America, Walking With Dinosaurs, Jurassic Fight Club, and others.