Tyrannosaurus rex is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now North America.
Appearance[]
Tyrannosaurus was a large, theropod dinosaur measuring up to 43 feet in length and 13 feet in height, and could weigh as much as 9 metric tons. It had a large, box-shaped skull that was armed with large, banana-shaped teeth capable of crushing bone, and a robust, barrel-shaped body, which was pneumatized by air sacs to make it lighter. Its arms were relatively small to its body size, measuring an average 3.3 feet long, but they were strong and armed with a pair of sharp claws. Meanwhile, its legs were long and bulky, which was necessary to support its weight, but also capable of giving T. rex a small burst of speed when hunting down prey, and its feet was armed with three toes ending in three sharp claws. To maintain its balance, T. rex had a long, heavy tail to act as a counterbalance to the weight of the head and torso.
In Dragon's World[]
65 million years ago, in what would one day become Montana, a lone Tyrannosaurus is patrolling his territory in search of food. His usual prey has been inexplicably dwindling, and he hasn't eaten anything in days. When he reaches the top of a hill, the Tyrannosaurus notices a strange creature in the valley below and heads down there to investigate. The creature is later revealed to be a juvenile male Prehistoric Dragon, who tries to intimidate the Tyrannosaurus. However, driven by hunger, the Tyrannosaurus is not deterred and approaches the juvenile dragon, prompting him to call his mother. The mother Prehistoric Dragon then attacks the Tyrannosaurus from the sky, gouging the top of his head with her talons. The Tyrannosaurus retaliates by chomping down on the mother dragon's wing, breaking it before the mother dragon mortally wounds him with a blast of fire. The Tyrannosaurus then lumbers away, and later dies from his wounds later that night.
Millions of years later, the skeleton of the same Tyrannosaurus is discovered by Dr. Jack Tanner, who gains international fame for his discovery. However, Tanner noticed the injuries the Tyrannosaurus suffered during his battle with the mother Prehistoric Dragon and formulated his theory on how it could have died. This would end up tarnishing Tanner's reputation, and kickstart the events of the film.
Behavior[]
Tyrannosaurus was the apex predator of its environment. It hunted large herbivores, such as the hadrosaur Edmontosaurus and the ceratopsians Triceratops and Torosaurus, but it would have also likely scavenged from carcasses, and if given the opportunity, cannibalize on younger T. rexes.
Tyrannosaurus is depicted as a solitary and territorial animal in The Last Dragon, living and hunting alone in a large slot of territory, and likely only ever getting together with other T. rexes to mate. However, studies on other tyrannosaurs, such as the slightly older Albertosaurus, suggests that Tyrannosaurus may have lived and hunted in small family packs, where the lighter, fleet-footed juveniles would be responsible for directing prey towards the adults, who would then use their strength and size to take them down.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- If you look closely, the T. rex looks a little bit like the ones from the hallmark series Dinotopia and T-rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood.
- T. rex in real life could not pronate its hands, like all other theropods.
- Tyrannosaurus likely had feathers, but this is still disputed.
- Tyrannosaurus likely does not have a septic bite.