The untamed Tyrannosaurus rex has only been in the collective imagination for a century and a half, its discovery is relatively recent, which means that we know very little about them. In any case, it is surprising to come to terms with the idea that the skeletons discovered are just the tip of the iceberg and that these majestic dinosaurs were much larger than we imagined until now. This is precisely what a new study suggests that has raised the status of the T. Rex, since they believe that they were much larger than we speculate.
Paleontologists at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, have gathered evidence and estimated that Tyrannosaurus rex may have been larger than now thought. According to their calculations, the largest T. Rex could have weighed a whopping 15 thousand kilograms, which would make it much heavier than an average school bus, which barely reaches 11 thousand kilograms. The results of the research were presented at the annual conference of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) in Toronto.
What is the largest T. Rex found?
To date, the largest T. Rex found is a specimen nicknamed ‘Scotty’ that measured 13 meters in length and is estimated to have weighed up to 8,870 kilograms in life, that is the same as 6.5 small cars. Scotty was found in the western province of Saskatchewan and is believed to have lived 66 million years ago.
But the new research suggests that the largest T. rex may have “been 70% larger” than Scotty, said study co-author Jordan Mallon, who is a researcher and head of paleobiology at the Canadian Museum of Nature. . “That almost doubles the size of T. Rex,” he added.
To reach the conclusion that we have not yet observed fossils of the actual size of T. Rex, the team of paleobiologists examined the fossil record that indicates that nearly 2.5 billion dinosaurs belonging to this species could have walked the Earth. . However, of all of these, only 32 adult fossils have been discovered, which means we have very little information about the largest dinosaur of all.
Using this data, the researchers ultimately modeled a growth curve for Tyrannosaurus rex. That is, they stipulated the way in which the dinosaur would reach adulthood and the average size it could have reached. The figures suggest that they were much larger than we thought and although this is only speculation, the fact changes the way in which the untamed reptiles are perceived.
“This is simply a thought experiment with some numbers behind it. It’s something that’s fun to think about,” Mallon said.
For now, more research is needed to try to find the fossils that will lead us to discover the truth behind these animals. But without a doubt, research suggests that we know little about dinosaurs and there is still much to discover.