What are some Tyrannosaurus rex facts?

Aside from being one of the largest of the known carnivorous dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex — T. rex, for short — is the dinosaur that has arguably received the most media exposure. read more

Most people reflexively assume that the North American Tyrannosaurus Rex--at 40 feet from head to tail and seven to nine tons--was the biggest carnivorous dinosaur that ever lived, The fact is, though, that T. Rex was outclassed by not one, but two, dinosaurs--the South American Giganotosaurus, which weighed about nine tons, and the northern African Spinosaurus, which tipped the scales at 10 tons. read more

The name Tyrannosaurus rex means "king of the tyrant lizards": "tyranno" means tyrant in Greek; "saurus" means lizard in Greek, and "rex" means "king" in Latin. In 1905, Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History at the time, named Tyrannosaurus rex. read more

The Tyrannosaurus rex was 40 feet long and 15 to 20 feet tall. Its skull was 5 feet long, while its jaw was 4 feet long. Its thighs were very powerful, and its tail was long and strong. In order to devour its prey, the Tyrannosaurus rex used jagged teeth to rip through flesh. read more