Katie Woolley - DinoZone: Tyrannosaurus Rex

Dinosaurs were reptiles that walked the Earth for 165 million years, long before there were any humans. We know of about 700 types of dinosaurs. But scientists think there were at least 1,500. Dinosaurs such as Triceratops (try-SEH-rah-tops) ate plants. The plant-eaters were hunted and eaten by meat-eaters such as Tyrannosaurus rex (ty-RAH-noh-sore-us rex). Huayangosaurus (hoy-YAN-goh-SORE-us) Dinosaur means terrible lizard. Fast Facts The scientist Richard Owen first used the word dinosaur in 1842. rexthe most famous dinosaur of all Tyrannosaurus rex was a truly fearsome dinosaur. rexthe most famous dinosaur of all Tyrannosaurus rex was a truly fearsome dinosaur.

It had long, razor-sharp teeth and a powerful bite. Measuring 12 m (39 ft) from tip to tail, it was as long as a bus!T. rex could be up to 6 m (20 ft) tall. Thats more than three times as tall as an adult human. Compared to its huge body, T. rexs arms were tiny! They were only about 1 m (3 ft) long. About 30 Tyrannosaurus rex fossils have been found, but none are complete.

Scientists think this prehistoric monster had about 200 bones. However, nobody knows exactly how many. Fast Facts When : Late Cretaceous period Food : Other dinosaurs Size : 12 m (39 ft) long Weight : 7,000 kg (7.7 tons) How it moved : On two legs Found in : Canada and United States, North America T. rex is short for Tyrannosaurusrex. It means tyrant lizard king.

Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago.

It lived in a part of the world that is now North America. At that time, North America was warm and humid. T. rex lived in forests near big rivers. It spent much of its time hunting among the trees. Fast Facts The Cretaceous period lasted about 79 million years. It was longer than the Triassic and Jurassic periods.

Many other dinosaurs lived alongside T. rex. It shared its world with other well-known dinosaurs, such as Iguanodon, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, and Maiasaura. IguanodonAnkylosaurus

T. rex had a huge, heavy head, balanced by a long, stiff tail.

Its skull alone was over 1.5 m (5 ft) long. Its tail made up about half the length of its body. T. rex was built for running quickly after its prey. Its powerful legs ended with claws that could hold down prey. Its sharp teeth were the perfect weapons for tearing into flesh! A human would have only been two mouthfuls for a T. rexs skin is found, we will never know for sure. rexs skin is found, we will never know for sure.

Some scientists even think that T. rex had feathers! Fast Facts The eyeball of a T. rex was the size of a human adults fist! A T. rex with feathers might have looked like this.

Tyrannosaurus rexs jaws contained 60 sharp teeth. Each tooth was as long as a human hand! Its bite was three times more powerful than a lions. rexs jaws were 1.2 m (4 ft) long! Thats the size of a 7-year-old child ...T. rex could hack away huge chunks of meat and crush bones as it ate. rex could hack away huge chunks of meat and crush bones as it ate.

It could easily tear off 230 kg (500 lb) of flesh in a single bite. Thats the weight of a large pig. With its long skull and wide jaws, T. rex may even have swallowed small dinosaurs whole! Fast Facts When one of T. rexs teeth broke, a new one simply grew in its place.

Some scientists think that Tyrannosaurus rex hunted and killed most of the meat that it ate, like a lion.

Others think that it mostly scavenged dead or dying dinosaurs, like a hyena.T. rex used its good sense of smell to find food. It may have driven other predators away from their meals. They would have been scared away by the size of this mighty dinosaur. From fossil finds, we know that T. TriceratopsMaiasaura lived in large herds. T. rex probably picked off old or sick animals.Maiasaura Fast Facts When food was scarce, T. rex would turn on each other! T. rex bones have been found in the stomachs of other T. rex.

T. rex probably hunted alone. rex probably hunted alone.

Its size meant that T. rex was big enough to take on large dinosaurs. It may have even attacked huge sauropods, such as Alamosaurus (AH-lah-moh-SORE-us)!

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