Character Bio
Symbolizing the classic image of the dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a fierce beast that roamed North America and Asia throughout the Late Cretaceous period. Standing between 15 and 20 feet tall, the T-Rex may have looked like a lumbering beast, but some believe it to have been able to run at speeds topping 30 miles per hour because of its powerful legs and long strides across the land. However, many paleontologists reject this theory, suggesting that the great dinosaur could have easily been outrun and, like a vulture, scavenged upon the dead. (Whatever the case may be, if you meet up with a T-Rex in a video game, you'll probably want to do only one thing - RUN!)When attacking smaller prey, the T-Rex simply reached down with its head and snatched up the unlucky morsel with its humongous mouth large enough to fit an entire person. Larger prey, however, were caught with cunning maneuvers and overpowering strength.
T-Rex's tiny forelimbs may appear silly to some, but it was these small body parts that allowed the T-Rex to balance its large head and upper body for running and walking. It used its long tail for balance, much like a cat. Its tail may appear large and heavy, but the T-Rex could move it quite easily to compensate for hills, valleys, uneven terrain and most environments likely encountered.
Though the T-Rex has long been envisioned as a bloodthirsty hunter, scientists are still undecided whether or not this is true. The T-Rex could have hunted many large animals like Stegosaurs or Brachiosaurs, but these animals traveled in packs and could easily destroy a single T-Rex. This fact gives further credibility to the scavenger theory mentioned above.
A few of the T-Rex's most unique features can't be seen from outside, like its ability to smell and its strange "pecking spot." The T-Rex had the largest olfactory lobe of all the dinosaur species allowing it to smell prey (or decaying meat, blood or many other smells) from miles away. The T-Rex could smell out almost any animal, even those hiding in thick underbrush. This ability is believed to be so keen because of its poor eyesight.
Also unique is the pecking spot, the bony structure right beneath the animal's eyes. When fighting with one another, it is believed that hitting this area of great sensitivity would subdue the other T-Rex. The pecking spot is the T-Rex's only known weak spot.
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Archosauria
ORDER: Saurischia
SUBORDER: Theropoda
INFRAORDER: Coelurosauria
SUPERFAMILY: Maniraptoriformes
FAMILY: Tyrannosauroidea
GENUS: Tyrannosaurus
OTHER MEDIA: Tyrannosaurus Rex has appeared in numerous books and movies including Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, King Kong and Super Mario Bros. (the movie version of Yoshi and
SOURCES:
Zoom Dinosaurs, www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/
~ Shawn Sackenheim, All Game Guide
