
It is the closest we may ever get to being face to face with a T. rex.

The American Museum of Natural History has unveiled a new exhibition showing the giant through its life with a series of models it boasts are 'the most accurate ever created'.

They range from a fluffy hatchling to a gigantic 43-foot-long model of the full grown killer - complete with feathers and 'useless' arms.

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The life-sized models now on display at the American Museum of Natural History are believed to be the most scientifically accurate representation of T. rex to date, and the Museum's model-makers worked with experts around the world to create them

HOW THE T. REX BECAME A GIANT The T. rex grew astonishingly quickly. T. rex reached full size by its early 20s—about as fast as a human does—but it put on much more weight in that time, gaining up to 140 pounds (65 kg) per month. It transforms from a vulnerable hatchling with a more than 60 percent chance of succumbing to predators, accidents, disease, and failure to find food in its first year of life, to a gargantuan predator at the top of the food chain. Advertisement

The museum created the models as part of T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a major new exhibition opening to the public on Friday, and the first exhibit of the museum's 150th anniversary celebration.

The first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902 by the Museum's legendary paleontologist and fossil hunter, Barnum Brown, and the Museum boasts one of the few original specimens of T. rex on public display.

'Dinosaurs, and Tyrannosaurus rex in particular, are such an important and iconic part of the Museum and have been throughout our history,' said Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History.

'So it seems fitting to launch the Museum's 150th Anniversary celebrations with a major new exhibition on the ever-intriguing King of Dinosaurs.'

The life-sized models are believed to be the most scientifically accurate representation of T. rex to date, and the Museum's model-makers worked with experts around the world to create them.

They include the latest scientific theories on the megakillers.

For instance, the massive life-sized model of a T. rex has patches of feathers, and arms that are far smaller than other models.

The American Museum of Natural History has unveiled a new exhibition showing the T. rex through its life with a series of models it boasts are 'the most accurate ever created'

The museum created the models as part of T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a major new exhibition opening to the public on Friday, and the first exhibit of the museum's 150th anniversary celebration

'We hope people will find out a lot they didn't know - like how it began life as an adorable hatchling, yet could gain upto 140lbs in a single month, it had feathers for warmth and camouflage, and its teeth are able to bite through bone.

'That said, mysteries remain - we don't know what color it was, or what it sounds like.'

Mark Norell, the curator of the new exhibition, said 'This is the most accurate representation of T.rex ever. We took a long hard look at a lot of areas and incorporated all the new knowledge, and it's pretty different.

'It's a skinnier, svelter animal than usually portrayed. It's hind legs are bigger, the front limbs are smaller and weaker, and it has feather on it.

'One thing people might not know is that it had feathers. We've never found one, but its nearest relatives do, so we infer they did too.

The new models range from a fluffy hatchling to a gigantic 43 foot long model of the full grown killer - complete with feathers and 'useless' arms

Its eyes, the size of oranges—some of the largest eyes of any land animal—faced forward like a hawk and were set wider apart than most other dinosaurs, giving it superior depth perception

'I never would have imagined that one day we'd be able to look at the shape of T. rex's brain, analyze the tiny daily growth lines on their massive teeth to determine how quickly they put on weight, or use advanced biomechanical modeling to figure out the force of its bite.'

The new research shows that a T. rex could bite with about 7,800 pounds of force—equivalent to the weight of three cars.

Gregory Erickson, a paleontologist with FSU who also worked on the exhibit, said he believed the animal's tiny arms are simply remnants of its evolutionary past.

'I think they are vestigial, they are remnants, they are virtually useless- T. rex uses its head for killing.'

Visitors will see a life-size model of a four-year-old T. rex, which although not yet the 'king' it would become in adulthood, would have weighed about five times more than a four-year-old boy and was as large as any other predatory dinosaur in its habitat.

The first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902 by the Museum's legendary paleontologist and fossil hunter, Barnum Brown, and the Museum boasts one of the few original specimens of T. rex on public display

The new research shows that a T. rex could bite with about 7,800 pounds of force—equivalent to the weight of three cars. Gregory Erickson, a paleontologist with FSU who also worked on the exhibit, said he believed the animal's tiny arms are simply remnants of its evolutionary past

Fully covered in feathers for warmth and camouflage, this juvenile T. rex had relatively long arms (unlike its adult counterparts), a slim body, and bladelike teeth that could cut through flesh but were not yet capable of crushing bone.

'Dinosaur fossils, like other echoes of ancient life, are discoveries of the science of paleontology,' said Michael Novacek, the Museum's senior vice president and provost for science.

A new exhibition is the closest we may ever get to being face to face with a T. rex

'But dinosaurs have a special status that transcends their importance to science—they fascinate and inspire the masses like few other animals—living or extinct—can.

'Chief among them is T. rex, perhaps the most famous and celebrated dinosaur that ever lived.'

An interactive wall also shows off how smart the T. rex was and how it hunted.

Brain casts indicate that T. rex had excellent vision.

Its eyes, the size of oranges—some of the largest eyes of any land animal—faced forward like a hawk and were set wider apart than most other dinosaurs, giving it superior depth perception.

By comparing the areas of the brain that are responsible for scent, vision, and hearing in tyrannosaurs' closest living relatives, birds and crocodilians, researchers have determined that the T. rex brain had similar regions.

For instance, T. rex had an unusually large olfactory region for a dinosaur, indicating it had a very good sense of smell. Also like their alligator and crocodile cousins, tyrannosaurs would likely have had highly sensitive faces.