How Much Did Tyrannosaurus Rex Weight ?
Tyrannosaurus Rex (tyrant lizard), a genus of theropod dinosaur, was until recently the biggest known carnivorous dinosaur. It could eat about 500 pounds of meat in a single bite. Fossils of T. Rex, one of the last of the non-avian dinosaurs to survive, are found in a variety of rock formation 68 to 65 million years ago. |
The T. Rex was a two legged carnivore with a gigantic skull balanced by a heavy, long tail. It had large and powerful hind limbs, offset with small fore limbs which had a couple of clawed fingers and a shorter stubby digit. It is one of the largest known land predators. It measured upto 43 feet in length, was 13 feet tall at the hips and weighed upto 7.5 tons. T. Rex may have been an apex predator. Some opine that it was a scavenger.
An abundance of fossil material of T. Rex has been found, many of which are complete skeletons. The bone structure is lightened with hollow bones. The largest known T. Rex skulls measured up to 5 feet in length. The skull of T. Rex was different from those of other theropods being extremely wide at the rear and narrowing in front allowing for good binocular vision. The skull bones were massive and the nasal and other bones were fused, not allowing any movement between them. Many were pneumatized i.e. contained tiny air spaces which made the bones lighter and flexible. The end of the upper jaw was U shaped allowing it to tear out a lager portion of flesh from its prey.
The teeth displayed differences in shape. The teeth at the front of the upper jaw were closely packed, D shaped in cross section, with chiseled edges and a backward curved profile. The shape reduced the risk of damage to the tooth when pulling and tearing. The teeth in the upper jaw were larger than all except those at the back of the lower jaw. Everything from its thick, heavy skull to its 4 foot long jaw was designed for maximum bone-crushing action. The largest tooth found so far including the root is 12 inches long.
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