T yrannosaurus rex (“tie-R AN-a-SORE-

uss rex”) needs no introduction; its

reputation as the ultimate carnivore

and most badass dinosaur ever to roam the

Earth precedes it. T yrannosaurus rex (T-rex

for short) literally means “t yrant lizard king”,

and there can be no doubt that it lived up to

its name.

Standing at over fi ve metres (16.4 feet) tall and

12 metres (39.4 feet) long, and weighing a

staggering seven tonnes (15,400 pounds), the

T-rex was once thought to have been the

largest terrestrial carnivore in history, but

subsequent discoveries of fellow titans

Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus and

Spinosaurus challenged this.

The T-rex walked on a pair of powerful hind

legs and could run as fast as a professional

footballer, but balance issues meant that

Giganotosaurus could outrun it. Its brain was

twice the size of most other predator y giants,

but its intellectual prowess wasn’t a patch on

that of raptors like Utahraptor. So how does

T-rex manage to cling to its crown?

It may not have been the biggest, fastest,

heaviest, or smartest, but the king was the

ultimate all-rounder. Its extraordinar y sense of

smell allowed T-rex to track prey over long

distances and sniff out abandoned carcasses to

scavenge. And then there is its not-so-secret

weapon: its phenomenal bite, which was

stronger than that of any land animal that ever

lived. Its bone-splintering jaws chomped down

with a force almost as huge as its own body

weight, bringing to bear its 60 saw-edged

conical teeth. Other dinosaurs had to close

their mouth around prey multiple times to

bring it down; T-rex only had to bite once.

deadliest

dinosaurs

10

Tyrannosaurus rex

Counting down the fi ercest, most

terrifying beasts that ever lived

Height: 5.6m (18.4ft)

Length: 12m (39.4ft)

DINOSAURS

Deadliest dinosaurs