A 66-Million-Year-Old Tooth Reveals T. Rex Was Nearly as Warm as a Human
Three teeth showed an average core temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit, suggesting the predator ran near human and elephant body temperatures.
- Researchers from UCLA published findings in Science Advances on Wednesday measuring Tyrannosaurus body temperature using dental thermometry. The team determined the predator maintained an internal temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit .
- For much of the last century, paleontologists debated dinosaur physiology, picturing Tyrannosaurus as a sluggish, cold-blooded reptile. Later research challenged this view, replacing it with the active, bird-like animal popularized in Jurassic Park.
- Robert Eagle and Randon Flores led researchers in analyzing chemical clues in tooth enamel using clumped isotope thermometry. Because this mineral forms inside a living body, the bonding patterns of heavy atoms record the animal's temperature.
- At 97 degrees Fahrenheit, Tyrannosaurus could have lived across most of North America, maintaining stable body temperature in both cooler and hotter regions. This internal thermometer reading of 36 degrees Celsius mirrors modern elephants.
- Researchers plan to test this method on other dinosaurs to explain the predator's dominance and metabolic strategy. Understanding this thermal stability could shed light on the prey required to sustain such high energy levels.
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Fossilized teeth reveal an average body temperature of 36.3 degrees Celsius.
Science Daily
ecotopical.comA 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human
Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct evidence that the giant predator was warm-blooded, helping explain how it stayed active and survived in chilly environments as far north as Alaska.
The T. rex had a body temperature similar to our own, study finds - WXXV News 25
By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN NEW YORK (AP) — Using fossilized teeth, scientists have finally taken the T. rex’s temperature — and it wasn’t too different from our own. Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature. Most scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, but pinning down the…
T. rex had a body temperature of 36.3°C, almost the same as humans; fossil tooth chemistry reveals the 66-million-year-old predator was warm-blooded and could survive in cold climates
Archaeology & Ancient World News: For 66 million years, the body temperature of Tyrannosaurus rex (T.rex) lived only in speculation. Now, a new study has taken the dinosaur’s temperatu.
The scientists analyzed the fossilized teeth of the Tirannosaurus and determined its mean body temperature, which is about 36 °C.
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