Other researchers, like Philip J. Currie, a dinosaur paleobiologist at the University of Alberta in Canada, agreed that the field has exploded. “More is going on now than ever,” he said. When he started in the 1970s, “there were probably only six of us in the world who were paid” specifically to study dinosaurs.

Others taught vertebrate anatomy or biology, or were dedicated amateurs. “Right now, there’s maybe 150,” he said, not to mention a “colossal increase in the number of scientific papers.”

From the time it was discovered, T. rex has been a sensation, attracting both the public and researchers. Each new skeleton or partial skeleton was hailed.

Some, like the T. rex skeleton named Sue, which now stands in the Field Museum in Chicago , attracted international attention. Sue was found in 1990, the biggest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever. The museum paid $8.3 million dollars for it.

The reconstruction of another giant found shortly after Sue, known as Scotty, will be unveiled at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina in May. Perhaps the name of the town will prompt overdue questions about why the great dinosaur was not named Tyrannosaurus regina.

It’s not because all the specimens found so far are male. There is no consensus on what sex they are, because it’s just not that easy to tell — particularly if all you’ve got is a skull or a thigh.

Few finds are 90 percent intact, as Sue was (named for her discoverer, Sue Hendrickson). One T. rex so far was found to have a kind of bone that was said to clearly identify it as female. But even that result is controversial.