Tyrannosaurus Rex

Commonly abbreviated with T. Rex, the Tyrannosaurus Rex is the most popular dinosaur in the world. The name Tyrannosaurus is derived from the Greek words tyrannos "tyrant" and sauros "lizard". It was featured in the movie "Jurrasic Park" as a powerful and feared dinosaur. The media hailed it as the "king of all kings in the domain of animal life", "the absoulte warlord of the earth", "royal man-eater of the jungle" and also "the most formidable fighting animal of which there is any record of". Rightfully so.

Some fossils found of this monsterous creature have been as long as forty one feet. Scientists estimate the Tyrannosaurus Rex weighed in over five metric tons. That's over 11,000 pounds. To put that in perspective thats about the weight of 3 to 4 cars. It was basically a machine with claws and teeth. The skull of a Tyrannosaurus could grow up to 5 feet in length. To balance the skull to body ratio, Tyrannosaurus Rex had a very long tail. They had about 60 teeth. Their teeth would actually fall out and regrow throughout their lives much like a shark or crocodile. Unlike other meat eater dinosaurus, a Tyrannosaurus tooth was shaped more like a banana rather than a sharp blade. The teeth were meant to crush and break both flesh and bone. Tyransaurus likely had the most powerful bite of any animal to ever exist. Some bones of the Tyrannosaurus were hollow. This kept it from losing any strength. Skin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex is comparable to a crocodile. It was bumpy and thick.

Tyrannosaurus lived during the Cretaceous Period (68 to 65 million years ago) in the northwestern part of North America. Usually extending up through the current day Rocky Mountain chain of both the United States and Canada. It belongs to the superfamily Tyrannosauroidea.