An icon from the age of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex has appeared in everything from blockbuster movies to chicken wing shape. As a creature to be feared for its bone-crushing bite or ridiculed for its inability to give high-fives, the T rex has captured the imagination of children and adults alike.
A skeleton broke a record when it sold for US$32 million (£25 million) at auction in 2020. So how well do you really know T rex? Here’s the truth behind five common misconceptions about this dinosaur.
Myth: T rex had poor eyesight
Scientists think T rex had excellent vision, despite what Jurassic Park would have you believe. T rex’s grapefruit-sized eyes could distinguish objects five times better than a hawk’s and 13 times better than a human’s.
They also had superior color vision. Like birds and crocodiles, T rex could distinguish more rainbow colors and see ultraviolet light than humans. Although it creates good dramatic tension in the plot, standing still won’t hide you from a hungry T rex.
Myth: Chickens are direct descendants of T rex
The origins of this legend are based on reality. All birds, including chickens, are not only descendants of dinosaurs, but are dinosaurs themselves. Birds belong to a lineage of dinosaurs that are closely related to predators (including velociraptor).
For example, early birds ArcheopteryxThey had wings like modern birds, but teeth and long tails like their ancestors. These ancient birds first appeared during the Jurassic period, millions of years before the evolution of T rex.
Scientists have determined that the ancestors of modern ducks and chickens were quail-sized creatures. asteriornisIt was called the wonder chicken by scientists. T rex was still alive at the time. A handful of these humble bird species survived the mass extinction that killed their dinosaur relatives and evolved into all the birds we know today.
Rather than being the grandfather of the modern chicken, the T rex is more like an oversized cousin of all birds.
Myth: T rex had small, useless arms
Muscle reconstructions show that T rex arms were strong for their size and had a reasonable range of motion. They were probably used in a variety of behaviors.
The most plausible suggestions that scientists have put forward so far include cutting and keeping prey and using it in communication between T rex individuals.
The T rex could not actually bend its arms with the palms of its hands facing down, as is commonly depicted. To increase the accuracy of your next T rex impression, turn your palms towards each other as if you were clapping.
At about three feet long, T rex’s arms are larger than human arms but still small compared to their 13-foot-long body. Small arms are common among larger theropods (two-legged, predatory dinosaurs) and have evolved several times in this group. Other dinosaurs in this group had even smaller arms.
eight meters long carnotaurusA horned predator from South America had short arms less than 50 centimeters long.
Myth: T rex lived together stegosaurus
Dinosaurs were probably older than you think. T rex lived at the end of the Cretaceous period, just before the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. stegosaurusand other popular Jurassic dinosaurs DiplodocusIt lived approximately 150 million years ago.
T rex lived closer to modern times than its time stegosaurus. When T rex walked on Earth, stegosaurus There were already fossils under their feet.
Myth: T rex was scaly and gray or green
The idea that T rex might have had feathers is controversial even among paleontologists. Evidence of feathers has been found in many dinosaur species, leading some scientists to conclude that feathers were common among dinosaurs. YutyrannusA nine-metre-long relative of T rex was found protected by feathery feathers.
So does this mean T rex is fluffy too? Not so fast. Some scientists think a fully feathered coat would have put the giant, warm-blooded T rex at risk of overheating.
This idea is supported by preserved patches of skin that appear to be scaly, found in many parts of the body. Although we don’t know for sure either way, the real T rex was probably something between fully scaly and fully furry.
The science of dinosaur color is one of the most exciting developments in recent paleontology. By examining fossilized pigment-containing capsules inside cells in feathers and scales, scientists have managed to identify the colors and patterns of some exceptionally well-preserved dinosaurs.
Although no one has yet figured out what color a T rex was, we now know that dinosaurs came in a variety of colors, including red and iridescent black, and patterns such as stripes.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Abi Crane does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic duties.