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T-Rex Facts

T-Rex Facts
The Tyrannosaurus rex, commonly called the T-Rex, was a large dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Crustaceous Period, between 68 and 66 million years ago. At the time, western North America was an island continent referred to as Laramidia. The T-Rex was one of the last non-flying dinosaurs to exist before the extinction event. The T-Rex grew as long as 42 feet, as tall as 20 feet, and weighed as much as 9 tons. His skull alone could reach a length of 5 feet. The T-Rex is also known to have had the largest dinosaur tooth of all carnivorous species, with up to 60 serrated teeth reaching 12 inches (including the root). Although impossible to prove, the T-Rex is believed to have been capable of reaching speeds of up to 43 miles per hour.
Interesting T-Rex Facts:
Some believe that the T-Rex was a predator and others believe he was a scavenger. His small arms lead to the belief that he would have had a difficult time grasping his prey, but his forward-pointing eyes lead to the belief that he was built for hunting.
The T-Rex walked on two legs and was able to balance his massive head with his long, heavy tail. The tail of the T-Rex often contained more than 40 vertebrae.
Once a T-Rex became a teenager, around the age of 14, he gained approximately 1300lbs a year until he was 18.
The T-Rex is believed to have had the strongest bite of any land animal that has ever existed. It is estimated to have had the same force biting down as a mid-size elephant sitting down - roughly 12,814 pounds of force.
The T-Rex is believed to have eaten herbivorous dinosaurs, but it is not certain whether he killed these herbivorous dinosaurs or scavenged their carcasses after they had died of other causes. The also dined on other T-Rex dinosaurs.
A T-Rex fossil skeleton named 'Sue' sold in 1997 to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago for $7.6 million. The skeleton is 85% complete. It was the most expensive dinosaur skeleton sold at the time.
The fictional creature Godzilla's design was inspired by three dinosaurs including the T-Rex, the Iguanodon, and the Stegosaurus.
The name 'Tyrannosaurus' means 'king of the tyrant lizards'. 'Tyranno' is the Greek word for tyrant, 'saurus' is the Greek word for lizard, and 'rex' is the Latin word for king.
The T-Rex was given its names in 1905 by the then president of the American Museum of Natural History Henry Fairfield.
The first partial skeleton of a T-Rex was found in 1902 by a fossil hunter named Barnum Brown. He found the fossil in Hell Creek, Montana. He also discovered another T-Rex fossil in Hell Creek.
A possible T-Rex footprint was unearthed in 2007 in Hell Creek, only the second of is kind ever found.
T-Rex fossils have been located in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, Mongolia in East Asia, and in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Utah, Texas, and Montana.


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