T. rex teeth indicate it ran as warm as an elephant
Researchers at UCLA have used clumped isotope thermometry on T. rex teeth to determine that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of approximately 36° Celsius. This finding suggests that T. rex may have been an endotherm, managing its own body heat similarly to modern elephants.
Why it matters
This discovery provides significant new evidence in the long-standing scientific debate regarding dinosaur physiology and metabolic rates.
Some like it hot T. rex teeth indicate it ran as warm as an elephant Isotope ratios provide a hint that the giants were actively managing temperatures.
0 Credit: duoogle Credit: duoogle Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav For most of the last century, T. rex was pictured as a sluggish, tail-dragging reptile that had to warm up in the sun before it could go anywhere. Then, further research changed that view, replacing it with the active, bird-like animal shown in the movie Jurassic Park . But whether T. rex used warm blood to power that activity remained a question. Now we might have gotten closer to an answer.
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