Index of Fossils
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Fossilized remains prove the age of T-Rex.
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Mesozoic Era
Age of Dinosaurs – approx. 225 to 65 million years ago.
Triassic Period: 250 to 208 million years ago.
Jurassic Period: 208 to 145 million years ago.
Cretaceous Period: 145 to 65 million years ago.
Triassic Period: 250 to 208 million years ago.
Jurassic Period: 208 to 145 million years ago.
Cretaceous Period: 145 to 65 million years ago.
Tyrannosaurus Rex - click here to learn more
Tyrannosaurus rex was a meat-eater about 40 feet (12.4 m) long, about 15-20 feet (4.6-6 m) tall, and about 5-7 tons in weight. T. rex probably had about 200 bones, roughly the same as us.
Like all other dinosaurs, T. rex walked on its toes; the scientific term for this is digitigrade. Other animals that are digitigrade include dogs, cat, and chickens. There is a pad of tissue on the back of the feet on these animals that acts like a shock absorber. People, bears, and crocodiles walk differently; they are plantigrade (flat-footed).
Extinction
T. rex went extinct during the K-T mass extinction, about 65 million years ago. This extinction killed the remaining dinosaurs (not just T. rex) and many other animal and plant groups.
A-Z Index of Dinosaurs by Name
Like all other dinosaurs, T. rex walked on its toes; the scientific term for this is digitigrade. Other animals that are digitigrade include dogs, cat, and chickens. There is a pad of tissue on the back of the feet on these animals that acts like a shock absorber. People, bears, and crocodiles walk differently; they are plantigrade (flat-footed).
Extinction
T. rex went extinct during the K-T mass extinction, about 65 million years ago. This extinction killed the remaining dinosaurs (not just T. rex) and many other animal and plant groups.
A-Z Index of Dinosaurs by Name
Compare T-Rex's weight
Compare Tyrannosaurus rex's weight with the weights of familiar objects. At maturity, Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) weighed about 12,000 pounds. To give students a feel for this large weight, have them compare T. rex's weight to familiar objects, such as a 2,000-pound compact car or a 100-pound student. For example, one T. rex equals six compact cars or 120 hundred-pound students. As an extension, assign teams one or more of the following animals—blue whale (largest on record is 390,000 pounds), elephant (12,000 pounds), hippopotamus (7,500 pounds*), white rhinoceros (4,000 pounds*), giraffe (2,500 pounds*), great white shark (4,500 pounds*), ox (1,400 pounds*), Clydesdale horse (1,700 pounds*), and cow (1,300 pounds*). Have them compare T. rex's weight with the weight of their animal (e.g., one T. rex equals three white rhinoceroses, which is a one to three (1:3) ratio).