The remains of a T. rex estimated to weigh more than 8,800 kgs have finally been removed from the earth at a fossil site in Canada.
Named Scotty after a bottle of celebratory scotch, the massive dinosaur’s remains were first discovered in 1991 by paleontologists at a site in Saskatchewan in Canada. Unfortunately it took more than 20 years to unearth all of Scotty’s remains, as they were encased in sandstone, making it nearly impossible to extract for further study.
Once the bones were able to be removed from the sandstone, it revealed a history of paleontology that sets Scotty apart from the rest of the current dinosaur fossil finds in the world.
Postdoctoral researcher in the department of Biological Sciences as the University of Alberta, Scott Pearsons, told ABC news Australia, ‘Scotty is the oldest T-rex known.’
Due to the size of Scotty, it is believed that contrary to what scientists and paleontologists have found before now, dinosaurs could be much larger than was previously thought.
The bones of this gigantic T.rex suggest the dinosaur may have lived a hard life; they show evidence of a broken and healed rib, jaw infection and broken tailbones.
According to reports by National Geographic, the dinosaur lived to be around 28 years old. A study on the specimen, first published in the Anatomical Record estimates that Scotty lived about 66-million years ago and found that the dinosaur was 13 metres long.
The age of a dinosaur is determined by the cross-sections of its bones, which show the growth of the specimen.
This is a breakthrough for paleontology and Scotty will be showcased at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada.
Pearsons adds that Scotty is the biggest of all carnivorous dinosaurs to have ever been discovered.
‘I think there will always be bigger discoveries to be made, but as of right now, this particular Tyrannosaurus is the largest terrestrial predator known to science.’
Image: University of Alberta, Canada .
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