Jakarta –
Tyranosaurus Rex or T. rex is one of the most terrible predators ever on Earth. Who would have thought, in its heyday there were 2.5 billion T. rex roaming the Earth.
This figure is the result of research scientists estimate the total population of T. rex when this terrifying dinosaur inhabited North America for 2.4 million years.
There are several factors that scientists consider to obtain this figure including a measure of geographic coverage, body mass, growth pattern, age of sexual maturity, life expectancy, duration of one generation and the total time T. rex was on Earth before extinction 66 million years ago.
They also follow a doctrine called Damuth’s law which links population to body mass. In essence, the larger the body size of the animal, the smaller the population density.
The results of this analysis found that the total population of T. rex that has ever existed on Earth is around 2.5 billion individuals. But at one time, it is estimated that there are 20,000 T. rex adults who spread terror on Earth.
“Why is it iconic? Big killer with super big teeth, which you would never dream of if we didn’t have a fossil record,” said Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology and research leader, Charles Marshall, as quoted by Reuters, Saturday (17) / 4/2021).
“So it’s not just super cool and beyond imagination, but real. Like Godzilla, but really real. And I think we like to feel small, and T. rex definitely makes us feel small and vulnerable,” he continued.
T. rex ruled North America around 1.2 to 3.6 million years ago. It is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever with a skull 5 meters long, serrated teeth the size of a banana, large jaws that can crush bones, and a very strong sense of smell.
One of the largest T. rex that has been found is a specimen named Sue which is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, USA. This specimen was 12.3 meters long, weighed 9 tons and lived for 33 years.
The study also estimated the average weight of an adult T. rex to be 5.2 tonnes, with an average lifespan of 28 years. It is estimated that there is a T. rex in each of the 100 square km area.
Since many variables are still uncertain, the research team said total population T. rex it could be as small as 140 million heads or as many as 42 billion heads, with a median value of 2.5 billion.
“It’s surprising how much we know about these dinosaurs and, from there, how much more we can count,” Marshall said.
“Our knowledge of T. rex has grown rapidly in the last few decades thanks to more fossils, more ways to analyze them, and better ways to integrate information from various known fossils,” he concluded.
Watch Video “Is This the Largest Dinosaur Fossil on Earth?“
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