What T-Rex Really Looked Like
- Thread starter Calleja
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I dunno, that thing still looks pretty bad ass and I'd rather our interpretations of dinosaurs reflect as close as possible to what they may have actually looked like based on scientific evidence. Wonder if we'll ever find a way to figure out their actual colours and patterns. If we do I'd definitely want that to be updated as well, even if they end up being florescent green and pink.
I just remembered how into dinosaurs I was when I was younger. Full on wanted to be a paleontologist and everything. Then I saw jurassic park and realized most of the time they're in a lab or museum and the rest of the time they're out digging in the middle of a desert where they probably won't find much more than dino shit and broken teeth.
I just remembered how into dinosaurs I was when I was younger. Full on wanted to be a paleontologist and everything. Then I saw jurassic park and realized most of the time they're in a lab or museum and the rest of the time they're out digging in the middle of a desert where they probably won't find much more than dino shit and broken teeth.
Emo Rex cries himself to sleep.
Where's the tiny arms? Damnit, the tiny arms make for an awesome joke in Meet the Robinsons!
YOU CAN'T RUIN MEET THE ROBINSONS, DAMNIT!!
YOU CAN'T RUIN MEET THE ROBINSONS, DAMNIT!!
I got the emo thing from the black lips and teeth, plus the dark around the eyes.
Not diggin the feathers... :-/
I believe they have found feathers on many others as well and the reason they may have not been found before was because no one was looking for them. A lot of early paleontology was done rather shoddy actually, hell we now believe triceratops to be a juvenile stage of another dinosaur altogether.
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Element 117
that is an awesome painting.
needs wings
needs wings
M
Matt²
No.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Feathers I can accept, if and when there is evidence that T-Rex was also sporting feathers. Considering, however, that the total number of complete T-Rex skeletons discovered ever is, I think, six, the likelihood of finding a new one to be studied with the newest available technology and archeological data is quite small.
It is, however, the color scheme that strikes me as somewhat off... as a top predator, a T-Rex would have likely had coloration that allows it to blend into its surroundings while stalking its prey. This would have been of crucial importance considering that T-Rex likely wasn't too fast a runner, so getting close to its prey unnoticed would have been imperative. Some scholars actually suggest that the T-Rex hunted the same way as the modern Komodo dragon: that its mouth was so filled with bacteria (and in case of the dragon, poison) that one bite would effectively cause sepsis and kill the bitten prey in a few days.
This, however, is just me rambling from a Walking With Dinosaurs and childhood enthusiasm of dinosaurs -level of knowledge, so I could be way off.
It is, however, the color scheme that strikes me as somewhat off... as a top predator, a T-Rex would have likely had coloration that allows it to blend into its surroundings while stalking its prey. This would have been of crucial importance considering that T-Rex likely wasn't too fast a runner, so getting close to its prey unnoticed would have been imperative. Some scholars actually suggest that the T-Rex hunted the same way as the modern Komodo dragon: that its mouth was so filled with bacteria (and in case of the dragon, poison) that one bite would effectively cause sepsis and kill the bitten prey in a few days.
This, however, is just me rambling from a Walking With Dinosaurs and childhood enthusiasm of dinosaurs -level of knowledge, so I could be way off.
NR makes a good point about the colors. T-Rex wasn't hunting in tundra (if some climate even existed then); so likely it would've had foliage and plains coloring.
This is especially worth noting because dinosaurs almost certainly had color vision, as crocodiles, many reptiles, and most birds do. So it is quite likely that T-Rex was either environmentally colored to blend in, or very garishly colored to attract mates (like ostriches or cassowaries for example).
As for the tiny arms, I saw a pretty compelling argument that they were used for much the same function as the anaconda's toe - "tickling" their mate to get them into a ready state. What you have to realize is that while the arms were proportionally tiny, they were easily as big as a human's arms and were capable of considerable strength - they were not withered vestigial limbs.
As for the tiny arms, I saw a pretty compelling argument that they were used for much the same function as the anaconda's toe - "tickling" their mate to get them into a ready state. What you have to realize is that while the arms were proportionally tiny, they were easily as big as a human's arms and were capable of considerable strength - they were not withered vestigial limbs.
K
Koko
TOTALLY digging the bird-rex.
needs to be in the next Jurassic park
needs to be in the next Jurassic park
Hmmm...Jurassic Park.
I think I know what my next episode is going to be!
Anyways, When I was a kid I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Like I had a collection of 200 dinosaur figures and about a 100 books on them, some way above my reading level at the time.
I'm diggin' the Tim Burton Rex bird.
I think I know what my next episode is going to be!
Anyways, When I was a kid I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Like I had a collection of 200 dinosaur figures and about a 100 books on them, some way above my reading level at the time.
I'm diggin' the Tim Burton Rex bird.
C
Chazwozel
T-Rex was thought to be primarily a scavenger, so no, the drawing would be an accurate color scheme.
I think it's really indetermined whether T-Rex was primarily a scavenger or not - isn't that one of the major disagreements between Hoerner and Baker (the two most immediately media-friendly paleontologists)? It definitely did eat carrion, but almost all predators will. It wasn't as fast as stipulated in Jurassic Park, but kinematics (I think that's the word for mechanically analyzing how things move) suggest it could move at 10-15 mph, which for an animal quadruple the size of an elephant is pretty decent. The powerful neck makes me think of a dog kills a rabbit or another similar prey animal - grab prey in the mouth and shake it till it's spine breaks. That kind of power isn't needed for a pure carrion eater.
On the other hand, that muscle could be used for crushing bones to eat the marrow. I don't know if there's any one trait that will say one way or the other.
On the other hand, that muscle could be used for crushing bones to eat the marrow. I don't know if there's any one trait that will say one way or the other.
I was about to correct you and tell you that the Komodo Dragon does not have a venomous bite and the Gila Monster and Beaded Lizard are the only two venomous lizards, but I've just learned that they've fairly recently found evidence that Komodos DO have venomous bites. That is insanely interesting!
I think that was NR's point and why he compared it to a Komodo Dragon.
T-rexes were purple and their diet was based on dancing, smiling and singing.
Based on what information? We don't have the first clue what the color scheme really was or even if they actually did have feathers. The only thing in the link is the that scientists believe the T-Rex MIGHT have had feathers like other dinosaurs and then there is the picture. It's an artist interpretation of what the T-Rex might have looked like and nothing more. We can't say for certain that this color scheme is correct or even close. It would make more sense for them to have a color scheme that helps them blend into their surroundings like Tigers and Lions do.
C
Chazwozel
Based on what information? We don't have the first clue what the color scheme really was or even if they actually did have feathers. The only thing in the link is the that scientists believe the T-Rex MIGHT have had feathers like other dinosaurs and then there is the picture. It's an artist interpretation of what the T-Rex might have looked like and nothing more. We can't say for certain that this color scheme is correct or even close. It would make more sense for them to have a color scheme that helps them blend into their surroundings like Tigers and Lions do.[/QUOTE]
The Tyrannosauridae
The feather coloring is an artist's impression, but I don't think it's far off from what a scavenger might look like.
Just to clarify, I wasn't questioning the scavenger vs predator bit, just the color. Rereading, I see I didn't make that abundantly clear.
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