Safekipedia
Dinosaur generaDinosaurs of CanadaDinosaurs of the United StatesExtinct apex predators

Tyrannosaurus

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

An artistic restoration of a Tyrannosaurus rex, showing the famous dinosaur from the side.

Tyrannosaurus

Tyrannosaurus, often called T. rex, is one of the most famous dinosaurs. Its name means "tyrant lizard king" in Latin. This big dinosaur lived a very long time ago, about 69 to 66 million years ago, in what is now western North America.

Tyrannosaurus was a very big meat-eater. It walked on two legs and had a long, heavy tail to help it balance. Its skull was huge, and it had strong teeth made for biting through tough meat. The biggest Tyrannosaurus found was about 12 meters (40 feet) long and almost 4 meters (13 feet) tall. Some scientists think it could have been even bigger!

People have known about Tyrannosaurus since the early 1900s. One of the first discoveries was a tooth found in Colorado in 1874. The most famous discovery happened in 1900 when a scientist named Barnum Brown found the first partial skeleton in Wyoming. Another skeleton was found in Montana in 1902, and it was named Tyrannosaurus rex in 1905 by Henry Fairfield Osborn.

Tyrannosaurus has appeared in many movies and books, like Jurassic Park. Its fossils are popular in museums, and it is often one of the first dinosaurs people think of when they hear the word "dinosaur."

Tyrannosaurus lived in a warm and humid place with many different kinds of plants and animals. Other dinosaurs that lived at the same time included Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of Tyrannosaurus have been found in places like the Hell Creek Formation and the Lance Formation.

Images

A fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History.
A fossilized vertebra from a Tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in 1892 and identified in 1917.
A scientific illustration of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, showing the bones of this famous dinosaur.
A fossilized skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex on display at the Natural History Museum in London.
A detailed skeletal model of the famous dinosaur Scotty, a Tyrannosaurus, on display at a museum.
A detailed scientific diagram showing different views of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, labeled with anatomical features for educational purposes.
Scientific drawing showing the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex from two different angles.
Fossilized right arm of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimen SUE, showing scientists how these mighty dinosaurs were built.
A close-up view of a Tyrannosaurus rex pelvis bone on display at a university museum.
Fossilized skulls of Tyrannosaurus dinosaurs, showcasing their powerful features.
Artistic reconstruction of Gorgosaurus libratus, an ancient predatory dinosaur.
A scientific illustration of Albertosaurus, an ancient meat-eating dinosaur, shown in a natural habitat.
A scientifically accurate restoration of Daspletosaurus torosus, an ancient predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Tyrannosaurus, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.