The Dinosaur King Blows Up Scientists' Ideas About His Weight

Tyrannosaurus Rex Weighed Up to 15 Tons

The king of the dinosaurs just got bigger! Tyrannosaurus Rex reached 15 meters in length and weighed up to 15 tons — 70% heavier than previously thought, a new study says. The researchers used computer modeling to estimate the maximum size of dinosaurs.

Photo: pixabay.com

With 60 razor-sharp teeth and jaws so powerful they could crush a car, the king of the dinosaurs was already a terrifying sight, writes the Daily Mail. But if that wasn't enough, Tyrannosaurus Rex may have been 70% heavier than previously thought, weighing up to 15 tons, according to a study.

The researchers used computer modeling to estimate the maximum size of dinosaurs, using the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex as an example.

Because the incredible sizes that many dinosaurs reached leave them endlessly in awe, they wondered how these animals evolved to become so large.

The team used computer models to estimate the Tyrannosaurus rex and took into account factors such as population size, growth rate, lifespan, and more.

Paleontologists found that the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex fossils were likely in the 99th percentile, which is 1% of body size, but it would take another 1,000 years of excavation to find them.

Computer models suggest that the largest individual that may have existed would have been 70% more massive than the largest specimens known to date. If true, the animal could have weighed up to 15 tons, compared to current estimates of 8.8 tons.

They would also have been 25% longer, reaching 15 meters rather than 12.

The study, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, was carried out by a team from Queen Mary University of London and the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canada.

Dr Jordan Mallon, one of the study's authors, said: «Our study suggests that for large fossil animals like T. rex, we really have no idea of ​​the absolute sizes they could have reached. It's fun to think about a 15-tonne T. rex, but the implications are also interesting from a biomechanical or ecological perspective.»

Meanwhile, a separate study suggests that Tyrannosaurus rex may also have boasted iron-coated teeth to help it tear apart prey.

The researchers found that the serrated edges of Komodo dragon teeth are coated in iron, which could provide clues to how the dinosaurs killed and consumed their prey, the Daily Mail reports.

Dr Aaron LeBlanc, lead author of the study from King's College London, said: 'Komodo dragons have curved, serrated teeth to tear apart their prey, just like meat-eating dinosaurs. We want to use these similarities to learn more about how meat-eating dinosaurs fed and whether they used the iron in their teeth in the same way as the Komodo dragon. Unfortunately, using the technology we currently have, we can't determine whether fossilised dinosaur teeth contained large amounts of iron. We believe that the chemical changes that occur during fossilization make it impossible to determine how much iron was originally present.»