Tyrannosaurus rex teeth reveal a body temperature close to the human average
UCLA researchers have developed a new method to measure the body temperature of extinct dinosaurs using fossilized teeth. The study found that the Tyrannosaurus rex had a body temperature of approximately 97°F, suggesting it was a warm-blooded predator capable of surviving in colder climates.
Why it matters
This discovery provides significant insight into dinosaur physiology and evolutionary biology, confirming that T. rex was likely an active, warm-blooded hunter rather than a slow-moving reptile.
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When picturing a scaled, toothy Tyrannosaurus rex stomping across North America, building nests and eating other dinosaurs, it's easy to forget that scientists have gleaned everything we know about T. rex from clues left more than 60 million years ago. While the presence of fossils in Alaska suggested that this prehistoric ancestor of birds was already on the evolutionary path from cold-blooded reptile to warm-blooded avian, there wasn't a way to take T. rex's temperature—until now.
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