By: Maggie Z

On July 25, 2024, a study concluded that the king of the dinosaurs, the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, could have been bigger than we previously thought.

For this study, scientists used computer modeling instead of evidence solely from fossils. Fossils are very old, so parts may have eroded and chipped away. Besides, paleontologists have only found fossils of a tiny percentage of all the dinosaurs that lived long ago. Before, scientists used fossils to determine the age and size of the dinosaur, and while that is acceptably accurate, it only provides a sample of the whole population.

Scientists based the computer model on today’s living alligators because, well, let’s face it, alligators are huge, and they are more closely related to T. Rexes than most other animal species alive today. They factored in population size, age, growth rate, and life span. In the end, the evidence pointed to one thing: Tyrannosaurus Rex was bigger than we think. Scientists now believe that the weight of a T. Rex could have exceeded fifteen tons, and individuals could have reached lengths of fifteen meters from head to tail (almost 50 feet!). “Our study suggests that, for big fossil animals like T. rex, we really have no idea from the fossil record about the absolute sizes they might have reached,” Jordan Mallon from the Museum of Nature in Ottawa, who contributed to the study, told BBC. “It’s fun to think about a 15 tonne T. rex, but the implications are also interesting from a biomechanical or ecological perspective.”

This study was published in the Ecology and Evolution Journal. However, many scientists do not believe that any reptile could grow that big. But if the results of this study are correct, the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletons are yet to be found.

So if some people want to pull some sort of a Jurassic Park stunt . . . we’re all in big trouble.

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