T.rex arrives at National Museum of Scotland
It is 65 million years since T.rex
actually walked the earth, but the Museum’s new acquisition will
bring people as close as possible to appreciating the scale and
power of the real thing. The cast has been taken from one of the
most complete T.rex specimens in the world, which is held
in the Museum of the
Rockies.
Part of the T.rex cast skeleton being
installed at National Museum of Scotland.
It is the centrepiece of the Animal World, a spectacular array
of creatures from the past and the present day, including a great
white shark, a hippo and a Triceratops skull, among many
others. T.rex peers out into the Museum’s Grand Gallery,
and draws people through into the six brand new Natural World
galleries, which tell the story of the formation of the earth and
evolution of life on our planet.
Where was the skeleton found?
Our T.rex is a cast of a specimen that was found in
1988 by researcher Kathy Wankel at Hall Creek, Montana. The
specimen was excavated by a team from the Museum of the Rockies, led
by palaeontologist Jack Horner, and given the number MOR 555. The
skeleton is 85% complete, including the skull and the first
complete T.rex forelimb.
Above: Excavation of the skeleton in 1990 © Museum of the
Rockies
The T.rex is now on display at the Museum of the
Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. Find out more about it's discovery in
Jack Horner's post on the Feast Bowl blog here.
What was T. rex like and how did it live?
T.rex was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs that
ever lived. Fossil evidence shows that it was about 12 metres long
with a six metre tail. It had strong thighs, and together
with its long powerful tail – which gave it balance – this helped
it moved quickly. Its massive 1.5 metre long skull provided it with
a powerful crushing bite.
T.rex in it's new home in Animal World gallery.
The serrated conical teeth allowed it to pierce and grip flesh,
and its strong neck muscles were then used to rip the flesh from
the carcass of its prey. Its two-fingered forelimbs could possibly
manipulate prey, but were far too short to reach its mouth.
It is believed that this powerful predator could eat up to 230
kg of meat in one bite. Fossils of T.rex suggest that it
crushed and broke bones as it ate and broken bones have been found
in its dung. It lived in forested river valleys in North America
during the late Cretaceous period and became extinct about 65
million years ago.