What if one of the most extraordinary Tyrannosaurus rex fossils ever discovered could change what we know about the King of the Dinosaurs?
Meet “Rex Junior,” a remarkably preserved, sub-adult Tyrannosaurus rex discovered on the Zerbst Ranch near Newcastle, Wyoming. Unlike an ordinary dinosaur skeleton, this specimen may preserve extraordinary details of the animal’s external body covering.
And according to paleontologist Paul Sereno, there’s something particularly intriguing about it:
“We don’t see scales.”
Does this mean T. rex had feathers? Not so fast!
In this episode of Prehistoric Life, we’re exploring the incredible story of Rex Junior, what makes a dinosaur mummy so unusual, and why this fossil could be so important to our understanding of tyrannosaur integument.
🦖 IN THIS EPISODE:
* What exactly is a dinosaur mummy?
* Why Rex Junior’s three-dimensional preservation is so unusual
* What previous fossil discoveries tell us about T. rex skin
* Why the absence of visible scales is generating so much interest
* What feathered tyrannosaurs like Yutyrannus can tell us
* Could T. rex have had both scales and feathers?
* Why we need the scientific paper before drawing conclusions
The specimen is still being studied, and the available statements do *not* confirm that Rex Junior had feathers. With further research and a scientific publication expected to shed more light on the discovery, this is a mystery worth following.
Sometimes, the most exciting fossils aren’t the ones that give us answers. They’re the ones that make us ask entirely new questions.
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🌐 Website: https://prehistoriclifepodcast.com/
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