ScienceScienceDailyA 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human
Scientists have measured T. rex's body temperature for the first time, finding it was about 37 degrees Celsius, almost the same as a human.
Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct evidence that the giant predator was warm-blooded, helping explain how it stayed active and survived in chilly environments as far north as Alaska.
UCLA researchers used a refined technique on fossilised T. rex teeth to take the first ever direct temperature measurement of the dinosaur.
The study found T. rex maintained a body temperature of about 36 degrees Celsius, far closer to a warm-blooded mammal than a modern cold-blooded reptile.
The finding supports the view of T. rex as an active predator with a fast metabolism, and may help explain how it survived in colder regions other reptiles could not.
The study, published in Science Advances on September 16, used fossilised teeth from a T. rex skeleton at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
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