Even if you’re not mad about dinos, you probably still know that the T-Rex is one of the most massive and lethal beasts to ever have walked this planet we call Earth. However, recent research suggests that we’ve been underestimating the T-Rex and that this beast was in fact even bigger (and scarier) than we first thought.
New Research Suggests Bigger T-Rex
Scientists now believe that T-Rex could have been 70% heavier and 25% longer than earlier estimates. This means that the largest T-Rex specimens might have weighed around 33,000 pounds and measured up to 49 feet in length.
Just looking at the numbers it’s difficult to truly understand just how massive this is. For reference, 33,000 pounds is roughly equivalent to a firetruck, a yacht, or a container filled with goods.
Heavier Than We Ever Imagined
The largest known T-Rex fossil, nicknamed “Scotty,” was estimated to weigh about 19,555 pounds. However, new research indicates that some T-Rexes could have weighed an additional 10,000 pounds – as much as 33,000 pounds.
New Extraordinary Lengths
Previous estimates suggested that T-Rexes were around 40 feet long. The latest findings propose that they could have reached lengths of up to 49 feet, a significant increase that changes our understanding of their physical presence.
Implications of a Larger T-Rex
Dr. Jordan Mallon from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa highlights that if the T-Rex was bigger than we thought, it wouldn’t just add to their beastly image. It equally has far-reaching and interesting biomechanical and ecological implications.
For example, a 15-ton T-Rex would have required more food and territory, impacting its behavior and interactions with other species.
Modeling Based on Alligators
The study, led by Dr. Mallon and Dr. David Hone of Queen Mary University of London, used computer modeling based on the growth patterns of living alligators. Alligators were chosen for their large size and evolutionary kinship with dinosaurs, providing a comparative basis for the research.
Fossil Record Limitations
Despite the excitement around these findings, scientists caution that the fossil record is incomplete. Currently, only 32 adult T-Rex fossils have been discovered, which limits the data available for precise size estimations. This means larger specimens might still be unearthed.
How Many T-Rexes Were There?
Researchers estimate that around 2.5 billion T-Rexes once roamed the Earth. However, due to the limited number of fossils found, estimating the absolute size of the largest individuals remains challenging. The study suggests that some fossils might represent the top 1% of T-Rex body sizes.
Potential for Even Larger Discoveries
Dr. Hone mentioned that some isolated bones hint at larger individuals than currently known. However, finding fossils in the top 99.99% of body size would require extensive excavation efforts, potentially taking another 1,000 years at the current discovery rate.
A Forever Unknown Mystery
While these new size estimates are speculative and based on modeling, they offer a fascinating glimpse into the potential magnitude of T-Rex. Until larger specimens are discovered, these speculations highlight how much of what we know about dinosaurs and the world before us are in fact quite uncertain.
The question remains, will we ever truly solve the mystery of dinosaurs?
T-Rex Bigger Than We Thought: Conclusion
In conclusion, the already fearsome, beastly, lethal – and so the list goes on – T-Rex was even bigger and scarier than we first thought. And not just by a little, an extra 10,000 + pounds is quite a lot of extra weight. Whether this prediction is correct or not, it illustrates how to more science evolves, the more we’ll know about our past.
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