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Tyrannosaurus: Not as big as you may think

Acro Rex

MemberCompsognathusJune 06, 2014Locked11962 Views31 Replies

Something i've noticed, especially on this forum. Every one thinks Tyrannosaurus is ' the king' and that it wins in every fight it's ever in. Well, right now, i'm going to take an in depth look at this animal. Going to show you it's not as big and fearsome as you might have thought...

The biggest Tyrannosaurus ever discovered was Sue FMNH PR2081, one of the largest, most extensive and best-preserved  specimens ever found, being somewhere between 70 - 80 percent complete. Estimates put "Sue" at around 12.3 meters TBL. Overestimations, especially recent ones put Ole' Sue at around 9 tons TBW.

From that study, we have this little gem of a picture..

As we can see, there is a lot of extra flesh that whoever engineered these figures, made it entirely too much. Makes the Tyrannosaurus look like a sausage casing rather then an apex predator.

now, we move onto the fragmentary giants every tyrannosaurus lover points to.

Let's start with the mysterious UCMP 137538.

Posted Image

What? that's it? well, yeah...It's a pedal phalanx ascribed to Tyrannosaurus because a basic morphilogical resemblance. Estimates for this toe bone range from 13-15 meters in length....

WHY?

Specimens of Tyrannosaurus have shown us time and again, individual variation within the skeleton is evident. To me, this isn't evidence of tyrannosaurus getting 14 or so meters. It's garbage at this point.

MOR 008?

that one skull that is "larger then that of sue"? well, i have some news for y'all. Juvenile animals tend to have larger heads then adults proportionally to their bodies.

C-Rex and F-Rex are indeterminate from what i've read up on..likely Carcharodontosaurs.

So there we have it, a quick debunking of some misconceptions and fabeled giants.

My estimates put Tyrannosaurus at 11-12 meters long and 5.5 tons at average. 

Feel free to dispute any of this with me, i'll be happy to oblige.

 

"Our lives are in your hands and you have butterfingers?" - John Hammond
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Lord Vader
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Interesting, and everyone is entitled to their opinions.

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Carnosaur
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Sue isn't really way bigger than tyrannosaurus specimens. It is still the largest (and the heaviest) relatively complete Tyrannosaurus though. Sue is slightly taller than holotype due longer femur. Some specimens like MOR 980 are nearly as long as sue. It isn't impossible that there might larger tyrannosaurus than sue.

UCMP 137538's phalanx IV-2 13 cm
FMNH PR2081's phalanx IV-2 11,1 cm
UCMP's bone is over 17 % bigger than the same bone in Sue.
Sue length: 12.3 m
UCMP 137538 estimated length: ~14.4 m 

UCMP 137538 isn't only T. rex specimen that might be larger than Sue. MOR 1126 a.k.a C. rex - which is almost certainly a tyrannosaurus. Don't know where you got the "Carcharodontosaurids" thing. There's no evidence for that at all, that they roamed at the same time period as Tyrannosaurus. UCMP 118742 appears quite large in estimations (however based on Sue, it would be slightly smaller than FMNH, but based on holotype CM 9380 or AMNH 5027, it would be ~13.6 m in length or more) and MOR 008, which skull is around 10 cm bigger than in Sue. Not much, but bigger.

While I can't say it's absolutely impossible for a Tyrannosaurus rex to reach 15 meters in length. But I will say it's unlikely - at least based on the reasonable complete specimens. The only way I will believe that T.rex can reach 15 meters is for someone to find a T.rex which is at least 40% complete(which would be enough to do a fair comparison with other rex specimens), then publish it . Then then I going to believe that 13.5-14.0 meters is the upper limits for the Tyrant King.

I'd like to say this, don't come on here this topic with a hot head. Gives you a bad rep on this site, as many others have found out on the past. I see you have not given any sources for your claims, so i, cannot take them seriously.

Nature doesn't deceive us; it is we who deceive ourselves.

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Rex Fan 684
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Keep in mind T.rex is a very robust animal. 9 tons for Sue wouldn't be unlikely. It's the current weight estimate for the specimen. UCMP 118742, C-Rex, F-Rex, Celsete, and other fragmentary specimens do suggest sizes larger than Sue. Plus I could go into detail about Thomasdoes as well, but I already did before, so here's the link...

 

http://www.jurassicworld-movie.com/community/forums/topic/28142

 

The principles behind Thomas relate to Devil Rex/Wankel Rex as well.

 

So, my average size estimate for T.rex is 12-13 meters long and 7-9 tons in weight. Max sizes are around 14-15 meters long and 10+ tons.

 

 

"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names." ―Alpha-98
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Raptor-401
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Well this is good to know. Thanks Acro Rex.

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Dynamosaurus Imperiosus/ Raptorexxx 700
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you do have a point but why is it when we find fragmentary remains for animals such as giganotosaurus and carcharodontosaurus we instantly estimate the maximum size. I put the average tyrannosaurus at around 12.1-12.8 m and the maximum at around 13-13.45 m based on my research :) but everyone has there own opinion

 

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Dynamosaurus Imperiosus/ Raptorexxx 700
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ohh and i did my research on Frex and celeste you can see my reseach here :)

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Something Real
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ACRO REX - This is very compelling information! However, we must all consider the fact that, no matter what, it's likely we'll never truly have a solid grasp on the sizes and weights of long-extinct animals such as T-Rex. Scratching around in the rock and dust can only yield so much information. For all we know, Sue could have been an underszied or oversized specimen - we just don't have enough information to make pinpoint accurate measurements. Regardless, thank you very much for sharing this with us! :)

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Jezza
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I personnally with agree A-Rex that T-rex isn't over 45 ft. long, 17 ft. tall, and 8.7 tons. Those are my max's on rex, it was deffinately massive, but not even close to 10 tons, in my opion. Sorry Rex Fan, but a 45 ft., 14 ton (weight taken from your site) would be an obese, fat, animal that would have to turn to svenging because of its lack of speed.

That's a 14 ton t-rex. Real killing machine, huh?

Youre fat, and I'm not sugarcoating it cause you'd probably eat that too.

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UCMP 118742
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We all have our own opinions. I personally think that they averaged at 7-9 tons in weight and were about 40 feet long on average. 5 tons seems very low to me. This is the picture of an African Elephant, they are known to weigh between 3-6 tons. This specimen would weigh about 5-6 tons.

And this is a comparison between a human and a Tyrannosaurus:

And the picture that you showed is actually quite reasonable, what's even more is that the neck muscles were too small in that picture. As you can see with the African Elephant, there is a lot of muscle where there is no indication for muscle judging from the skeleton. On a T.rex that part wouldn't be as large, but still a good bit. Don't forget that a layer of muscle, which would be about as thick as twice the span of a human hand, would surround the rib cage and that would lead all the way to about half of the tail. It would surround the his entirely and not just abruptly drop down to the base of the tail, but continue further. All in all, I'd say that the Tyrannosaurus in this picture would weigh about 8-9 tons.

Keep in mind that many people have died for their beliefs; it's actually quite common. The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe in. -Brom-

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Rex Fan 684
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Technically my site says up to 15 meters and 14 tons. Those couple of feet would make s difference(plus what UCMP pointed out). My question is why is a 10-14 ton T.rex out of the question, yet a Spinosaurus of similar weight not?

"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names." ―Alpha-98
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Acro Rex
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there's no way in a hell a healthy tyrannosaurus got to 14 tons. Out of the question. 

Spinosaurus could weigh that much because it was longer then rex, more body area to carry the weight.

"Our lives are in your hands and you have butterfingers?" - John Hammond
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Rex Fan 684
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Why is it out of the question? Dinosaurs being smart, feathered, and hunting in packs was probably "out of the question" too at one point. Now that's the norm for many species. 

 

Spino was longer(probably), but lighter weight and more slender pound for pound...

 

 

(technically Giga and Rex, but principle of longer doesn't mean heavier still applies)

 

 

"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names." ―Alpha-98
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Raptor-401
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Hmmm I think A long dinosaur is actually a bit more terrifying than a heavier dinosaur for some reason...

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Rex Fan 684
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Well, what makes an animal scary or not is a different matter entirely. I fear spiders more than wolves despite being a fraction of my size. 

"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names." ―Alpha-98
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Raptor-401
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I fear cockroaches so much for some reason.

IT'S TIME TO DU-DU-DU-DU-DUEL!!!

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Lord Vader
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I'd be more afraid of a Rex than a Giga simply because while both have large teeth, Rex's are larger, Rex is wider and more muscular. 

 

Haha, everyone has some irrational fear. I hate small cars, not fear, but strongly dislike, verging fear if I had to get in one and drive. I don't really like dogs either (all but one I've ever come in contact with has tried to or has attacked me). 

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Raptor-401
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I LOVE dogs. Liking a dog is actually rather a trait you are born with. I was born into a dog lover.

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Raptor-401
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And I do not know about you but fear of cockroaches is not irrational. They carry so many disease and can survive up to a week WITHOUT THEIR HEAD.

IT'S TIME TO DU-DU-DU-DU-DUEL!!!

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Acro Rex
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UCMP, why bring an elephant, a mammal into this discussion? 

Dinosaurs are of the reptilian/bird lineage, a comparison between tyrannosaurus and an elephant is elementally flawed.

About the 9 ton sue estimates... It is a group of scientist who developed a new means of calculating weight. Under this new system, dinos are heavier. This is just an article on how it was applied on T. Rex. 

As you know, there are more than one method in trying to find out the size of dinosaurs, this is a new one. I dont know why in the world do you think it can be accounted for only 1 dino. It is just a new calculation method that is all. The article just talks about T. Rex weighing under this new scheme.  But that would be applied to Spino, Carchar, Giga, and Every other dinosaur under the sun.

However for Spino..20 tons sounds too much, and was Spinosaurus even heavier than 90 ft average Diplodocus, which weight about 16 tons? I don't think so.
I know Therrien and Henderson estimated that Spinosaurus could weigh over 20 over when they published their study. However they estimated its length of only 12.6 to 14.3 m. Also i heard that these guys estimated Giganotosaurus weight of about 17.4 tons. This must be huge overstimated. Their methods are just BAD, because they made them in the same proportions as other large carnivorous dinosaurs. I believe it was around 10-12 tons overall..

But..You guys seem to underestimate Spino, whom i do believe would outmatch Tyrannosaurus 6/10 times in a confrontation IMO. Yes, i just brought this into the conversation.

"Our lives are in your hands and you have butterfingers?" - John Hammond
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Raptor-401
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It's just natural. A lot of SPino fans also attempt at underestimating Rex.

 

I shall try to say no more in this.

IT'S TIME TO DU-DU-DU-DU-DUEL!!!

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