Stan le T. rex

T. rex, the "tyrant lizard king" is one of the largest terrestrial carnivores and could be as long as 15 metres! Its front legs were ridiculously small but its extremely powerful jaws were filled with teeth sharp like steak knives. The specimen shown in our room is a replica of Stan, the largest and most complete male Tyrannosaurus rex known today (12.2m long and 3.7m high). His skeleton bears the marks of many an injury: broken and healed ribs; cervical vertebrae that are fused or have become rigid owing to excess bone growth; and a hole in the back of his skull is a perfect match for… the tooth of a T. rex! Most of these injuries could have been inflicted by other tyrannosaurs, but Stan survived all of it. When he died, all of his wounds had healed already or were on the mend.
Did the Tyrannosaurus rex, the terrible predator from the end of the Cretaceous period, look like a large chicken? It’s possible! A tiny primitive tyrannosaur from Sihetun, Dilong was covered with feathers that scarcely branched. However, T. rex, which was more evolved than Dilong, may have lost its plumage during its evolution or growth. As it was so big this may have been enough to maintain a certain level of body heat.