The Largest T-Rex Skeleton Ever Found?

“One of the things observed through this study was that Scotty led a considerably violent and brutal life. Scotty’s fossil showed broken ribs, an infected jaw and bite marks on its tail, which were presumed to be inflicted by a rival Tyrannosaurus rex during a fight.”

Estela Gonzalez Pacios

The largest, longest-living Tyrannosaurus Rex, discovered in 1991, revolutionised the way scientists around the world think about large, prehistoric predators.

The Scotty T. rex on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Callas. “Scotty the T Rex.” Flickr, 1900 Callas, 14 May 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/ callas1900/26985910066/in/photostream/.

In 1991, a group of palaeontologists discovered the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in Saskatchewan, Canada. This dinosaur, nicknamed ‘Scotty’, took nearly a decade to excavate, for it was encased in compact, cement-like sandstone. Scotty, found in what is assumed to have been ‘a subtropical coastal place’ (National Geographic, 2019) nearly 68 million years ago, revolutionised the way scientists and palaeontologists thought about large, prehistoric predators. His remarkable size and weight pushes the margin of the maximum T. rex size higher than ever thought it could be. This immense Tyrannosaurus fossil is nearly 42 feet long and presumably weighed 8,870 kilograms (19,500 pounds) when it roamed prehistoric Saskatchewan (Gizmodo, 2019). 65 percent of this specimen has been recovered. This 65 percent includes his skull, hips, some of its ribs, some of its leg bones and some of its tail bones.

Scott Persons’s Study On Scotty’s Fossil

Scotty’s fossil was so large and peculiar that it took nearly 30 years to excavate, prepare for analysis and analyse. All in all, these thirty years were worth the effort because scientists and palaeontologists were able to find and study each of Scotty’s remarkable traits, as well as what his lifestyle was like.

Scotty’s study was led by Scott Persons, a famous palaeontologist, and was published in 2019. This study was an in-depth analysis of Scotty’s 66 million-year-old fossil, which revealed many aspects of the T. Rex’s life. One of the things observed through this study was that Scotty led a considerably violent and brutal life. Scotty’s fossil showed broken ribs, an infected jaw and bite marks on its tail, which were presumably inflicted by a rival Tyrannosaurus Rex during a fight. Nizar Ibrahim, a palaeontologist at the University of Detroit Mercy, who wasn't involved with the study, told National Geographic that “It was not an easy life, even for the king of predatory dinosaurs, judging by all these injuries”. Through this T. Rex’s analysis, they were also able to estimate how old Scotty was when he passed. Studying the growth patterns on the dinosaur’s bones, the palaeontologists approximated that it died in its early 30s. This was a shock to everyone, because, by Tyrannosaurus standards, this was an unusually long life. His unusually long life and remarkable size startled everyone and suggested that large predatory dinosaurs, like the T. rex, probably got older and bigger than palaeontologists assumed based on previous fossils found.

The Scotty T. rex on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Ingram, Robert. “Scotty the T-Rex.” Flickr, Robert Ingram, 21 May 2018, www.flickr.com/ photos/79292369@N07/40439071460/in/photostream/.

Scotty’s notorious size has changed the way scientists and palaeontologists think about carnivorous theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs with hollow bones and three-toed limbs). Being the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found, and the largest dinosaur ever found in Canada, his size might have left people with more questions than answers... To identify Scotty’s original weight (before passing), Scott Persons and his colleagues relied heavily on the size of his femur. By studying many living animals, scientists have found that the wider an animal's femur, the more weight the bone could hold up. Scotty's femur was calculated and found to be eight inches wide, which suggested that Scotty's two legs could hold up more than 8,870 kilograms (nearly 10 tons!). This means that Scotty was 8,870 kilograms in size. However, this bone-measuring method isn't fully reliable. Many animals don't relentlessly use their bones to hold up their weight. Their bones also support the forces of motion. AISM Magazine | 42

The Scotty T. rex on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Ingram, Robert. “Scotty, T-Rex.” Flickr, Robert Ingram, 21 May 2018, www.flickr.com/photos/ 79292369@N07/40439067570/in/photostream/.

Amid the identified species, the T. rex is one of the best represented extinct dinosaurs, with more than 20 fossil individuals found. This is why it was convenient and helpful for Scott Persons to do up to eleven comparative analyses with Scotty’s fossil and other T. rex skeletons. In fact, Scott’s study was the first to compare the specimen to other known T. rex fossils. They compared Scotty to the famous “Sue,” who was once considered the largest T. rex fossil ever found. Sue, discovered in 1990 in South Dakota, weighed 8,460 kilograms. This means that Sue is around 5 per cent lighter than Scotty. Although the size difference between Scotty, Sue and the other T. rex fossils isn’t too broad, and the calculated size of each individual may be inaccurate, Scotty still pushes the margin of the maximum T. rex size higher than previously thought. "This is the rex of rexes," Scott Persons said in a statement. "There is considerable size variability among Tyrannosaurus. Some individuals were lankier than others and some were more robust. Scotty exemplifies the robust.”

How Fossils Such as Scotty’s Further our understanding of the History of Life and Evolution

The discovery of fossils, such as Scotty’s, provide us with information that transforms the way we think about the history of life. All the fossils found around the world are part of the fossil record. The fossil record shows that prehistoric (now-extinct) organisms were very different in structure and appearance from any now. It also shows changes in organisms through time, showing their transition from one form to another. There are many methods that make it possible to estimate the time period when the rocks, and the fossils found within them, were formed. One method is radiometric dating and using it, scientists have calculated that Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago (Ayala). These methods along with fossils help us understand the history of life and evolution in three main ways.

Essentially, the discovery of fossils, such as Scotty, further our understanding on the fact that the animals and plants of our planet haven’t always been the same, and that they have changed in many ways over time. This huge Tyrannosaurus has forever changed our knowledge on large, prehistoric predators and prehistoric life as a whole.

The Scotty T. rex on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Callas. “Scotty the T Rex.” Flickr, 1900 Callas, 14 May 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/ callas1900/26925283472/in/photolist-H2i7Ho-2h22kMh-2hPEyHs-HyT1Tn-aomUou-6FCxGV-2gzVGAy-26gpsTo-2gGcicrH7DQTu-24BsP51-4RHh2x-J4qyxX-bVrecQ-ap6otm-24BsMUW-iUyvnj-kcMFm-DsCY4e-2h1WU7w-6FGCEU-foim8YRHJwh9-3kq1qY-3KCPj9-w9ETy1-x6G5jP-ipFZTh-ipGJ3X-ipGK56-ipFYoU-ipFWPG-ipFwVw-ipFuih-ipFn6R-ipFGBK-ipFHzB-ipGBHTipFsHS-ipGFcg-ipGvgV-ipGs2i-ipFLSQ-ipFgP9-ipGxJF-ipFNer-ipFHMD-ipFSoE-ipEZQo-fo4aSk.

Scotty, the Peculiar and Immense Dinosaur

Scotty is the largest, oldest T. Rex to have ever been unearthed. Scotty isn’t just big, he is unique for his battle scars and bone structure too. Just as Scott Persons said, “The big thing that everyone is talking about is just how large this particular individual is, but my favourite part of the specimen is actually the smaller details—the little bits of weirdness.” Nevertheless, his remarkable size and weight pushed the margin of the maximum T. rex size higher than ever thought it could be and revolutionized scientists’ and palaeontologists’ knowledge on large, prehistoric predators. At the moment, Scotty is on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

More information on this extraordinary fossil can be found at Gizmodo.com, National Geographic.org and The Anatomical Record’s online library.

References

Websites:

Greshko, Michael. “World's Biggest T. Rex Discovered.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 26 Mar. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/03/worlds-biggest-t-rex-found-in-canada-scotty-dinosaur/.

Pruitt, Sarah. “Canadian T. Rex Is Officially the Biggest Ever.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 26 Mar. 2019, www.history.com/news/worlds-biggest-t-rex-canada-scotty-dinosaur.

Vega, Elijah. "Paleontologists discover world's heaviest Tyrannosaurus rex." UWIRE Text, 28 Mar. 2019, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A580558323/GPS? u=aismozam&sid=GPS&xid=ba8131fb. Accessed 24 May 2020.

"Scientists claim Canada's 'Scotty' world's largest T. rex." Xinhua News Agency, 27 Mar. 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A580197667/GPS?u=aismozam&sid=GPS&xid=ee09475d. Accessed 24 May 2020.

Ayala, Francisco Jose. “Evolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 May 2020, www.britannica.com/science/evolution-scientific-theory.

"Fossil record." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Jan. 2011. school.eb.co.uk/levels/advanced/ article/fossil-record/101225. Accessed 24 May. 2020.

Dvorsky, George. “Gigantic T. Rex Skeleton Found in Canada Is Officially World's Biggest.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo, 26 Mar. 2019, gizmodo.com/gigantic-t-rex-skeleton-found-in-canada-is-officially-1833547406.

Images:

Callas. “Scotty the T Rex.” Flickr, 1900 Callas, 14 May 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/callas1900/26985910066/ in/photostream/.

Ingram, Robert. “Scotty the T-Rex.” Flickr, Robert Ingram, 21 May 2018, www.flickr.com/photos/ 79292369@N07/40439071460/in/photostream/.

Ingram, Robert. “Scotty, T-Rex.” Flickr, Robert Ingram, 21 May 2018, www.flickr.com/photos/ 79292369@N07/40439067570/in/photostream/.

Svec, Petr. “Scotty the T-Rex.” Flickr, Petr Svec, 14 July 2018, www.flickr.com/photos/darkwulf/48368907987/.

Callas. “Scotty the T Rex.” Flickr, 1900 Callas, 14 May 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/callas1900/26925283472/ in/photolist-H2i7Ho-2h22kMh-2hPEyHs-HyT1Tn-aomUou-6FCxGV-2gzVGAy-26gpsTo-2gGcicrH7DQTu-24BsP51-4RHh2x-J4qyxX-bVrecQ-ap6otm-24BsMUW-iUyvnj-kcMFm-DsCY4e-2h1WU7w-6FGCEUfoim8Y-RHJwh9-3kq1qY-3KCPj9-w9ETy1-x6G5jP-ipFZTh-ipGJ3X-ipGK56-ipFYoU-ipFWPG-ipFwVw-ipFuihipFn6R-ipFGBK-ipFHzB-ipGBHT-ipFsHS-ipGFcg-ipGvgV-ipGs2i-ipFLSQ-ipFgP9-ipGxJF-ipFNer-ipFHMDipFSoE-ipEZQo-fo4aSk.