Dubai Restless Planet

Tyrannosaurus rex is was the largest carnivore ever to walk the earth. The dinosaur stood fifteen feet tall and was nearly twice as heavy as a bull elephant. It possessed one of the largest brains ever evolved in the animal kingdom, even larger than those of most mammals that have ever lived.

An average Tyrannosaurus was about about 39 feet (11.9 metres) long, up to 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall, and weighed around 7 tons. The largest known Tyrannosaurus fossil specimen, nicknamed "Sue", is 42 feet (12.8 metres) long. Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the most famous of the extinct reptiles.

Its skull in particular was an imposing unit of bone. Up to 60 teeth, some of them longer than a human hand, lined its jaws. If humans had been around, they could have slid down its gullet with ease. Its eyes faced forward, providing better depth perception, important for a predatory animal, and its narrowed snout gave it a clear field of vision. At the other end, a heavy tail counterbalanced the skull. A complete tail has never been found, so no one knows exactly how long it might have grown.

While the Tyrannosaurus rex is posed as if it is stalking prey, we do not in fact know for sure whether meat-eating dinosaurs such as this were active hunters -- tracking down, attacking, and killing prey -- or scavengers, feeding on the carcasses of other dinosaurs. While its huge jaws and its strong legs would certainly be forceful hunting weapons, Tyrannosaurus rex's arms were too short to reach its mouth, and its hands had only two fingers instead of three, making it unable to grasp. The fossils discovered thus far offer some evidence about whether theropods were hunters or scavengers.

Characteristics

• Meaning:Tyrannosaurus ("tyrant lizard")
• Type Species:Tyrannosauridae
• Length:up to 42 feet (12.8 meters)
• Height:50 feet (15.2 meters)
• Weight:16,000 pounds (7,258 kg)
• Type of feeder:Plant eater  (herbivore)
• Teeth:52 chisel-like teeth
• Food:Ate the tops of tall trees
• How it walked:Walked on four legs, front legs longer than back legs
• Period:Late Cretaceous