A giant T. rex emerges from the shadows of a forest. Mark Witton © Mark Witton.
Science Daily has a post from the Canadian Museum of Nature that looks at the maximum size of dinosaurs. New research published in the journal Ecology and Evolution found that Tyrannosaurs rex might have been 70% heavier than currently accepted.
A new study published today in the scientific journal Ecology and Evoiution looks at the maximum possible sizes of dinosaurs, using the carnivore, Tyrannosaurus rex, as an example. Using computer modelling, Dr. Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and Dr. David Hone of Queen Mary University of London, produced estimates that T. Rex might have been 70% heavier than what the fossil evidence suggests.
The researchers assert that the huge sizes attained by many dinosaurs make them a source of endless fascination, raising the question as to how these animals evolved to be so big. There are perennial claims and counter-claims about which dinosaur species was the largest of its group or even the largest ever.
Most dinosaur species are known from only one or a handful of specimens, so it's extraordinarily unlikely that their size ranges will include the largest individuals that ever existed. The question remains: how big were the largest individuals, and are we likely to find them?
